Transformers Prime: Through Hell & Back Again
by xXBlack'BladeXx
Summary: She is his daughter; he loves her with his entire spark. He would do anything to protect her and keep her safe. Now both her fate and that of the universe lies in his hands. He will be tested, and he will not fail. He can't. He will do whatever it takes to bring her back home again safe and sound... even if it means going through Hell and back again.
1. My Family, My Foundation

***NOTE TO READERS: IF YOU DON'T READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF MY CHAPTERS, PLEASE START DOING THAT. I HAVE THESE HERE FOR A REASON. THIS ONE IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT.***

**Okay, guys, here it is. The first chapter of the sequel to 'Transformers Prime: The Hybrid Theory'! I'm going to try to post up the second chapter tomorrow (or later today, as my clock reads), but then after that I'm not sure when I'll post again. I only have about three chapters of this written now and I would like some more written or mostly written before I really begin diving into posting up this fic. Also, I still have college where I have to do quite a bit of writing and such so that takes up a lot of time and I want to get 'Transformers Diaries: Kindred Sparks' finished before I really dive in and commit to this story. So updating will come pretty slow for a while. Please bear with me. I have lots of other stuff going on in my life right now too and, honestly, I'm still trying to work some parts of this story out yet. I want it to be just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. **

**And also note, I have changed Hunter's robotic mode design a bit—most notably the "hair". Yes, I am well aware that Cybertronians do not have hair, but it didn't seem realistic to me how Hunter has such long hair in her organic form and all that hair transforms into this really short headset. So I decided to remedy this situation by giving her "Cyber hair" which is really just a whole bunch of really fine yet strong copper wires that look and move a lot like hair. She is the only Cybertronian—Hybrid or Purebred—to have this feature because I figured, as the Fuser, she probably would look a bit more exotic. Does that make her a Mary Sue? Probably, but I'm not changing my artistic integrity, so if you don't like it, you can just—to quote Hunter—"take it and shove it". Besides, she can use it as a weapon too by sending electrical pulses through it to shock people who are stupid enough to snag her by it. *snickers* Starscream is in for a surprise. I will go back and add these changes to her robot form in Hybrid Theory as I go back and re-edit it. **

**BTW, if you want to see what Hunter looks like in her Cyber. form I will put a link up on my profile to the picture that I uploaded on DeviantArt.**

**And all of the chapters (or mostly all of them) for this story I plan on being in Latin with English subtitles. Now hopefully the website that I found to translate English to Latin (NOT Google Translate!) is accurate. But in the case that it isn't and there's someone out there who actually does understand Latin please tell me if I get something wrong and correct me. I would greatly appreciate it.**

**Okay, onward!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"So it don't matter what we look like, we look perfect to me. We got every kind of love—I feel so lucky indeed! They can keep on talking, it don't matter to me 'cuz we are, we are family…" Keke Palmer; _We Are_

1

Ω Mea Familia, Mea Fundatio Ω

(My Family, My Foundation)

"All right," Greasy said in a soft, calm voice, "breathe deep, clear your mind, and concentrate. Reach into your spark—try to feel Primus' presence there. Concentrate."

Taking a deep breath, Huntress Starstreaker James, the savior Cybertron and all her inhabitants—officially titled as the Fuser—attempted to do just that. Sitting in the middle of Greasy's basement—which, ironically, was in a lot better shape than the rest of his little shack up above—in human form, the sixteen-year-old Hybrid sat in the full lotus position, hands resting flat and relaxed on her knees. She couldn't help but feel like a meditating Buddhist monk in this position, though she wasn't meditating. At least not really. She was more reaching inside of herself to try and connect with the spark of Primus that currently resided within her own spark. If she achieved this, it would not only give her the ability to communicate with Primus whenever she desired, it would also help her to unlock and go into the Primus-state whenever she wished. The Primus-state was when she and Primus were united as one being and it gave her access to all of the cosmic energy in the universe as well as increasing her own powers—which were already more powerful than those of other Hybrids—by tenfold. The girl had only ever been in it once, and that was back when Primus had first merged into her spark several months ago. Since then it hadn't happened.

This was not her first attempt at this either. Over the past few months she had tried many, many, many, many times to try and achieve this feat, but she could never accomplish it. No matter how hard or often she tried to connect with Primus she came out with bubkis. She was getting frustrated. If she couldn't make a connection with Primus no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, what was the point of even trying? Greasy insisted that the more she kept at it, the closer she would become to Primus and the easier it would be for her to connect with him, but she didn't see it. Honestly, she felt further from Primus now than she had been when they'd started this exercise and the dude (was it respectful to call a god-like being 'dude'? Maybe that was why she couldn't connect with him) was literally living inside her spark. You couldn't get any closer than that!

"Concentrate," Greasy repeated.

Hunter tried to concentrate harder.

"Concentrate."

The girl's face scrunched up in annoyance.

"Concentrate."

She quietly snarled. Did he seriously have to keep saying that every five seconds?!

"Concentrate."

"I _**am**_ concentrating."

"No, you aren't."

"Well, I'm _**trying**_."

"Try not. Do or do not—there is no try."

Hunter's sapphire blue eyes snapped open and her head whipped around towards the little elderly Hybrid sitting in the lotus position beside her. She glared incredulously. "You little bunko artist, you stole that from _Star Wars_!" she accused.

Not even opening his eyes, Greasy calmly retorted, "It fit the principle then and it fits it now." Without even looking the man reached up and flicked the teen hard between the eyes causing her to yelp and rub her forehead. "Now concentrate."

Still rubbing the red spot on her head, Hunter growled, closed her eyes, and went back to "concentrating". "Well, I suppose it does fit," she remarked with a smirk after a moment. "You are about the same size and probably age as Yoda after all." Her eyes snapped wide open again as pain suddenly wracked her body. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ooowww!" she screeched as she was roughly pulled down by the ear by her Hybrid mentor. She rapidly smacked the floor with her palm. "Okay, okay, okay! I'm sorry! Let go of my ear now _**please**_!"

Smirking, eyes still closed, Greasy released her. "Good," he replied. "Now concentrate."

* * *

"Ugh…" Hunter groaned, rubbing the back of her neck as she entered the Autobot base through the ground-bridge.

The team's medic, Ratchet, who was standing by the ground-bridge controls turned to meet her. "How was your session?" he questioned, though, judging from her posture and moan, he was sure he already knew the answer. The mech knew all about Hunter's trouble with making a connection with Primus and, in all honesty, he was starting to become worried. He knew Hunter and her temperament all-too-well. From birth, her processor had been programmed to pick up on things quickly, whether they were battle tactics, weapons, or hand-to-hand combat (evidently it was so she would be ready to meet her destiny at any moment), and she could become very upset with herself when she didn't pick up on something right away.

That was part of the reason why Optimus was having such a trying time teaching her defensive tactics. Due to natural glitches in her processor, Hunter was not nearly as skilled in picking up anything defensive related as she was when it came to offense. She absolutely hated that limitation and, once she became frustrated enough, refused to—as the humans say—"keep on trucking" until she finally cooled down. However, she still picked up on those skills and mastered them faster than she did this Primus scenario. She hadn't made a fraction of progress since she started! Because of that, Ratchet could see the Hybrid's frustration mounting day by day. Hunter was one of the most determined and strong-willed femmes he had ever known, but everyone has an eventual breaking point, Hunter being no exception. If she didn't start to make some progress soon, the medic feared she'd give up.

Hunter stood in front of the mech, arms crossed over her chest, weight resting on her left leg. She looked out from beneath her fiery red locks, and met his optics, which were holding the rare softness that was meant just for her within them. "No change," she muttered gloomily. "In fact, I think I'm farther away from achieving the Primus-state and communicating with Primus that I ever was before." Hanging her head, the teen sighed shakily. A few tears of frustration pricked at her vision, but she quickly blinked them back, refusing to cry over something so stupid. "I just don't get it," she murmured, more to herself than to Ratchet. "Everything else comes so easily to me—even defensive combat is easier to pick up that this! Why is this so hard for me?"

Ratchet stroked his chin in contemplation, quietly humming. "From what I can gather," he replied after a moment, "both entering the Primus-state and communicating with Primus himself are goings-on that take place on a spiritual level. As such it would be difficult to accomplish them if one weren't…"

"Spiritual?" Hunter finished for him, meeting his eyes again before looking away. Sighing heavily, she placed one hand on her hip and reached up to scratch the back of her neck again. "Makes sense, I guess," she admitted, looking at the floor. Then she shrugged. "I'm about as far from spiritual as you can get; I mean I'm a warrior, not a priestess. Now if I could be a warrior priestess, like that one lady on the movie _Priest_ that would be truly epic. Of course then I might have to battle those creepy vampire things, and that wouldn't be so hot. Then again, I'd have Primus' blessing…."

Ratchet simply stared at his adopted granddaughter and blinked in confusion at her rambling. "I literally didn't understand a word of what you said after "I'm a warrior, not a priestess", Hunter," he informed her.

Hunter sighed and waved a hand, dismissing the subject. "Don't mind me, Ratch," she responded. "I ramble when I'm confused."

Ratchet chuckled and smirked. "Yes, I am well aware of that," he teased.

The girl met his optics again and smirked back. Of course he did. Next to Optimus and Greasy, Ratchet probably knew her better than anyone. True, she wasn't exactly the hardest person in the world to read once she let her guard down around you and let you come into her circle, but still. Then her smile faded and she became distraught again. "But, Ratchet…" she began, "… what happens if I never pick up on this? What if I go my whole life—or _**lives**_—and I never accomplish communicating with Primus or mastering the Primus-state? What then? I'm the Fuser—the savior of Cybertron and my breed. If I can't make that Cosmic Connection—if I can't be as powerful as I can be and reach my full potential… I'll let everyone down. I don't think I could stand that." She hung her head again.

Ratchet sighed heavily, his spark going out to the child. It was times like this, when Hunter was inquiring these types of things and Optimus wasn't around, that he wished he was more like the Prime. Optimus had always had the natural ability of saying the right thing at the right time. Whether that was part of what came with being a Prime or if it was just something he'd always had, nobody knew, but it most certainly worked, especially with Hunter. Unfortunately for Ratchet, he didn't have that ability. Whereas his old friend spoke with skill and finesse, he spoke with tactlessness and bluntness… as well as an occasional wrench or two. That's what made these situations so hard. He knew Hunter needed his support and the reassurance that he believed in her, and she had both of those, but he just wasn't sure how to tell her that. These moments also made Ratchet wish he shared a spark-bond with the youngling as Optimus did so that he wouldn't have to verbally explain to her that he was fully behind her. But he didn't have that privilege either. These were the cards he'd been dealt so he had to lump it and make the best of them. Sighing, the white and amber medic wracked his processor to try and find the right words to say. "Don't you worry, Hunter," he settled for. "You'll get there. It'll just take time, but you'll get there."

Hunter looked up. "You really think so?"

Ratchet smiled warmly and nodded. "I know so."

Hunter returned his smile in thanks. Then the teen cleared her throat, picked herself up straight, and looked around the base. It was awfully quiet. "Where is everyone?" she questioned.

"Where do you think?"

Hunter looked up at the clock on the wall. "Evidently gone to pick up the kids from school."

Ratchet nodded. "And your father…"

"Is almost home!" Hunter cut him off excitedly, turning and sprinting off in the direction of the entrance of the base.

The medic stared after her in sheer bewilderment. "How on earth can you…" he began and then suddenly remembered, "… oh. That's right."

Transforming out of her organic form and into her Cybertronian one, the femmling jumped up, releasing jets of blue flames from her feet as she did to help give herself more vertical, and snagged onto one of the metal beams at the ceiling of the base. "Don't tell him I'm home!" she called down to Ratchet as she swung up into the framework and easily braced herself between two of the beams. She was high enough above the lights now so that the shadows could conceal her brilliant scarlet and black-and-silver striped armor. Being directly above Optimus' head would help too. In position, the sixteen-year-old smirked and waited for her spark-father to come through the doorway into the base. Through their spark-link she could sense him coming closer and closer to mesa. She heard the sound of the base doors opening, the strong roar of an engine as it drove through the opening, then the sound of the doors as they closed again. The sound of his tires and engine in the passageway grew louder as he drew closer. Hunter's muscle cables began to tense, getting ready to pounce.

All at once a handsome looking Peterbilt of rich red and deep blue drove through the doorway and into the main room of the base before coming to a stop and transforming into a large, majestic, regal looking robot: Optimus Prime. The mech saw Ratchet and smiled in a friendly way. "Good afternoon, Ratchet," he greeted him.

Ratchet smiled and nodded in turn. "And to you Optimus."

The Prime then became quiet and looked around the room. When he didn't see who he was looking for he turned back to his old friend and inquired, "Ratchet, have you seen my daughter by any chance?"

"Your daughter?" Ratchet questioned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I sense her presence is near, yet I do not seem to see her about."

Ratchet shook his head. "Haven't seen her." As he said that he rolled his optics up to the ceiling, despite having been specifically ordered to not let the Prime know she was home.

Catching the eye-roll, Optimus cocked an optic ridge and began to look upwards, but it was too late. He was already being ambushed.

"Hrah!" Hunter let go of the beams and came half-pouncing, half-crashing down at her spark-father. She landed atop him with such force that she sent him crashing beneath her to the floor with a mighty _**WHAM!**_ But of course, she meant to do that.

"Whoa! Oof!" Optimus smacked down to the floor on his chestplate, almost, but not quite face-planting into the cement. It only took a moment for the Prime to shake off his daze, then, laughing maniacally, he reached around back, grabbed his daughter by the tires on the back of her shoulders, pulled her down, and the two went rolling into a wrestling match, each trying to pin the other.

Ratchet snorted and rolled his eyes but couldn't keep the slight smile from claiming his lipplates. If he had been one of the other 'bots, he might have found this whole situation utterly fascinating, seeing as how Optimus wasn't normally seen guffawing and rolling about on the floor in front of his team, even if it was as he played with his child, but the old mech knew the Prime better than the others. Even though it was quite the sight to behold, he wasn't amazed by it. After all, what father could resist the urge to take on his young in a playful scuffle that said young had instigated in the first place? If he had been younger, and it was his little one, Ratchet didn't think he'd have the spark to say 'no' either. Still the mech had to scoff and shake his head. For a full grown mech who was usually resigned and dignified and a young femme on the cusp of adulthood who was normally mature and calm (okay—_**mostly**_ mature and calm), these two could most certainly act like a pair of rowdy scalawags. Sighing, he turned and left the room. "If you two will excuse me, I have some things to attend to in the lab."

Of course the duo didn't hear him. In fact, once they'd started wrestling, they'd barely even been aware of Ratchet's presence at all, being so busy trying to pin each other.

"Ha!" Hunter finally cheered, pinning Optimus down. "Got'cha!"

Smirking, the large mech expertly broke away, grabbed her, flipped her around, and restrained her against the floor. "Ha-ha!" he chortled. "Now who has whom?"

Gritting her denta, his spark-daughter strained and fought and tried to break free of his hold, but she couldn't. Even though she was much, much stronger than he was, Optimus had a lot more experience than she did and, in his time, he'd had to learn how to take down opponents who were much bigger and/or stronger than he was. True, until recently, none of those opponents had been a Hybrid, much less the Fuser, but with a little bit of adjustment his tactics still worked and worked well. Finally Hunter quit fighting and laughed. "All right!" she panted after a moment. "Okay, I call uncle—you win."

"Of course I do," her spark-father responded smugly.

The femmling rolled her optics and smirked. "Can you let me up now?"

For a moment, the Prime looked as though he was deep in thought, considering her question carefully, then he smirked back down at her. "I suppose I can," he sighed. "If I must." He let her go and stood.

Still panting, Hunter rolled up into a sitting position. Looking up, she saw that her father was offering her a hand up and accepted it, allowing him to help her to her feet. Once she was standing she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the mech's middle. "Hey, Dad," she giggled, hugging him tightly.

Chuckling and smiling warmly, Optimus returned her hug. "Good afternoon, my shooting star," he purred lovingly, nuzzling the crown of her head and kissing her helm. "You are getting better."

Looking up and meeting his bright blue optics, Hunter cocked an optic-ridge and smirked. "At what?" she asked. "Ambushing or wrestling?"

Chuckling some more, the Prime simply kissed her forehead.

Optics drifting shut, the sixteen-year-old Hybrid snuggled closer to her spark-father's body, purring in utter contentment. In her mind, there was no better, warmer, or safer place in the universe than being right here in her best friend's/commander's/father's big, strong arms where his enduring, unyielding, uncompromising love for her was most strongly felt and reciprocated. Oh, Hunter could always feel his love for her, no matter how far apart they were, but there was just something about being wrapped in his arms and held close that made it all the more cozy and real.

Snuggling her back, Optimus carefully combed his digits through the many fine copper wires that made up her "Cyber hair". As the Fuser, she was the only Hybrid, let alone Cybertronian, to possess such a feature while in her robot mode. It really did make her look quite exotic and lovely. "How was training with Greasy?" he asked.

At that, Hunter almost immediately deflated. Slumping in the Prime's embrace, she met his optics again and gave him a flat, serious look. "Do not ask," she rumbled.

Optimus smiled sympathetically and caressed her head. "Apparently not so well," he concluded.

The femmling shook her head and then buried her face in his broad chest, closing her optics as she did. "You don't even know, Dad," she muttered. "I think I'm farther away from making the Cosmic Connection than before."

"What does Greasy say?"

At that, Hunter pulled away from her father's embrace and stood before him, hands perched on her hips and an aggravated expression on her face. "Oh, Grease-stain thinks I don't have good enough concentration," she informed him. "And maybe that wouldn't be such a problem if he wasn't saying "Concentrate, concentrate" every five seconds." She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her brilliant sapphire optics. "I swear he can be _**so**_ annoying."

Optimus gave her a reprimanding look.

Noticing this, Hunter sighed and waved her hands in a defensive way. "I know, I know," she replied. "Respect my elders and all that. But still."

Her father's expression softened and he chuckled warmly. "Well, he is your Hybrid mentor, sweet-spark," he said, putting his hands on his hips, an act that seemed to make his already massive chest even more massive. "Like it or not, you are stuck with him, so I suggest you make the most of it."

His daughter sighed in defeat and hung her head. "Yeah, I know," she mumbled.

"However," Optimus went on after a moment, causing her to look up at him curiously, "if it is concentration that you are having trouble with, I believe I might be able to help."

"Really?" Hunter inquired, brightening up.

Smiling, Optimus nodded. "We can start right now, if you wish."

Hunter grinned a mile wide.

The mech laughed. "I will take that as a 'yes'."

* * *

"Okay, I'm confused," Hunter admitted. "How is this supposed to help my concentration exactly?" Both she and Optimus were now in the training room of the base. She was balancing in a handstand on the balance beam that Ratchet had made for her training by welding some large metal beams together. Optimus was walking around her, checking her posture and making sure that she wasn't threatening to fall over. Not that he needed to. She could do handstands in her sleep, she had such excellent balance—just another bonus to being the Fuser. Which is why she didn't understand how this was supposed to help her learn to concentrate.

"Oh, it isn't the handstand that is going to help you with that," Optimus replied, coming to a stop beside her.

Cocking an eyebrow the femmling looked over at him. It was weird seeing her father upside-down. "Then what is?" she asked.

At that, a wily gleam came to the Prime's optics and he smirked devilishly.

Hunter's own optics widened in fear. She knew that look all too well! But before the sixteen-year-old could protest or make a move to escape she was being attacked. "No! Dad! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" she squealed as his digits began to stroke and scratch the bottoms of her feet and dig into the backs of her knees. She nearly toppled over.

"Don't laugh, Hunter," Optimus ordered in a teasing way as he continued his merciless tickling. "If you laugh you will fall off the beam and that is not good. Concentrate on keeping your position, but don't laugh. Do not laugh. Don't laugh."

Squeezing her eyes shut and biting her lipplate, the scarlet and black-and-silver striped femmling tried as hard as she could to do just that. With all that was in her she tried to concentrate on staying in a perfect hand balance on the beam and push away the thoughts and sensations that were surging through her from her father's evil, tickling fingers, but it was so hard! They were just so… tickly! She managed to fight her way through his tickling of her pads and knee joints. When he started tickling her armpits and inside elbow joints it was harder, but she somehow survived. The same could be said for her sides, but when he finally zoned in on her mid-plate she came undone. She was just too ticklish there! Screaming with laughter, Hunter finally released the balance beam and would have fallen to the floor if Optimus hadn't had his hands on her and pulled her to him.

"What is this insubordination?!" the Prime playfully roared as he threw her over his shoulder and continued to tickle her. "I tell you not to laugh or fall off the beam and you do both?! You will know better here after! Rah!" Tossing her down on the floor Optimus dove down after her and pinned her before resuming his tickling. "You shall pay for your disobedience by being tickled senseless!" he bellowed. "Ha-ha-ha!" Without warning, he plunged his face into her stomach and blew a raspberry.

"**AAAHHH!**" Hunter wailed bucking, writhing, and wriggling frantically around to try and get away. It didn't work. "Da-ha-ha-ddy! Sto-ha-ha-ha-op! Plea-hee-hee-hee-ease! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Optimus relentlessly tickled her for several more minutes until he decided enough was enough and finally pulled away.

Hunter continued to lay there beside him on the floor, now curled up into a ball to try and protect herself from further tickling, heaving heavy vents as she cooled down and quietly giggling from the impulses that were still working their way out of her systems. Weird as it was, she actually enjoyed being tickled (though she'd never tell anyone. That'd just be asking for a death sentence!), and she absolutely loved when this kind of thing happened with her father. She was just happy they didn't happen all the time. The teen released a relieved and tired groan.

Chuckling warmly, her spark-father reached out and gently wiped away the few tears that remained on her cheekplates. "I dub you 'tickled senseless'," he lovingly joked, brushing some wires out of her face.

His daughter playfully glared up at him. "You're… a jerk," she panted.

A devious smirk curved Optimus mouth once again. In the blink of an optic he'd dug a single digit into the plating of her tummy once more. "Pardon me?"

Still highly sensitive from the previous tickling, Hunter shrieked and tried arching away from his touch, curling up into an even tighter ball as she did, but it didn't really help much. "Okay, okay, okay!" she squeaked. "I'm sorry!" Even when the mech pulled his finger away she continued to giggle.

Chuckling along with her, Optimus reached out and pulled his worn out but very much happy spark-daughter into lap and cuddled her close. "All right now, little one," he cooed rubbing her back in circular motions. "Calm down. Easy. Shh." He smiled gently as she began to unwind and relax against him. "That's my good girl." The mech kissed her forehead.

"I… I don't think…" Hunter broke off to giggle slightly as the last of the surges left her receptors, "… your "concentration exercise" worked." She draped her arms loosely around his neck before suddenly smirking and giving him a knowing look. "At least, not in the way you told me it would."

Optimus raised an optic-ridge and smirked back. "Are you insinuating that I supplied you with false information about what this exercise would do when I intended for it to take an entirely different route?" he questioned in a 'playing-along' way.

Hunter chuckled. "If the boot fits," she remarked. She kissed his cheekplate and nuzzled into it as she murmured, "You sly devil."

The Prime wiggled his optic-ridges. "As you earthlings say: It takes one to know one, you little imp."

"Technically, I'm not an earthling."

"You are more so than I am."

"Take it and shove it, big guy."

Optimus chuckled.

His daughter giggled along with him before tightening her arms around his neck, thus pulling herself closer, and resting her head on his chest directly over his spark-chamber. She closed her optics. The sound of his spark—part of which he had sacrificed to ignite hers so long ago—hummed stalwartly and steadily in her audio-receptor. She sighed contentedly, smiling. "I love you, Daddy," she purred.

The Prime held his sixteen-year-old closer and closed his optics, smiling at the sound of her purring. He rested his head atop hers and rocked her. He was the luckiest mech in the universe to be blessed with the privilege of having this miracle for a daughter—spark-, biological, or otherwise. "I love you too, my shooting star," he purred back. "And I always will."

The Hybrid smiled and snuggled closer. All at once her failure in connecting with Primus and achieving the Primus-state didn't seem like such a big deal. She had the faith and support of her family and friends and the unending love and protection of her amazing father as well as his wisdom and advice whenever she needed it. Of course, it wasn't quite the same as having access to the wisdom of an all-powerful, god-like being such as Primus but that really didn't matter to Hunter. In her eyes, Optimus was the wisest person ever. He was her hero, was always there for her, and nothing that happened would ever change that—they'd both been through hell enough times for that to be proven. Could life get any more perfect?

As she sat there, cradled in the strong, sheltering arms of her spark-father, Hunter was sure she was certain of one thing: absolutely nothing could tear her world apart.

* * *

**Confession #1:**

** I did not come up with the term "Cosmic Connection". That was suggested by my faithful reader GabbyM and I liked it so much that I decided to use it. Thanks, Gabby!**


	2. The Return

***NOTE TO READERS: IF YOU DON'T READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF MY CHAPTERS, PLEASE START DOING THAT. I HAVE THESE HERE FOR A REASON.***

**Okay, everyone, second chapter, as promised. After this one I have absolutely no idea when I'll update again or how frequently I'll be updating. I would like to try and update every two or so weeks, but I KNOW for a fact that that will not be happening. With any luck I can finish up Kindred Sparks soon and then, with one more fanfic. out of the way, I can really start sinking my teeth into this one along with my other stories. Hopefully. My writing schedule never seems to stay a constant. *sighs***

**WolfAssassin369—Awww, thanks, sis! I hope so. :)**

**AllSpark Princess—Yes, it is. It goes hand-in-hand with Hunter's Primus-state.**

**Alice Gone Madd—I admit it. I couldn't help myself. I wanted everyone to know that I hadn't given up on Hunter. XD Kitty, you're gonna have to let her read this. **

**SunnySides—You can drown in feels?**

**All right, let's go!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"Generals gathered in their masses… just like witches at black masses. Evil minds that plot destruction; sorcerers of death's construction. In the fields the bodies burning… as the war machine keeps turning. Death and hatred to mankind… poisoning their brainwashed minds. Oh, lord, yeah…!" Black Sabbath; _War Pigs_

2

Ω Reverto Ω

(The Return)

Mars;

It was a quiet day on Mars. Not a big surprise there—when wasn't it quiet on the red planet? Upon the surface of the planet, the outpost Epsilon was just as subdued as the rest of its surroundings. The Hybrid sentries of the post were all desperately trying to find some sort of stimulus to keep their processors from turning into burned out hard-drives from the endless boredom that plagued them day in and day out. They would have killed for anything to happen—an invasion of some other alien race, a Mars rover, anything! If this quietness kept up for much longer, they'd all snap.

Most of the crew was young and was in the cafeteria of the pressurized base, either enjoying their noon meal or passing the time with card, board, or video games, thumb wrestling, or arm wrestling… just as they always did… every day. They'd been out here for so long that they'd all won everything and beaten all of the video games at least four times. Except for arm wrestling. Sentry Flash Armstead was reigning champ of that event and it was an accepted fact that he forever would be. Nobody could beat him. That didn't keep anyone from trying however, as a group of about six sentries gathered around the official arm wrestling table, watching on yet again as Flash proved his claim to the crown against Sentry Spiro Zuber, cheering at the top of their lungs for the former.

"Go'a admit, love," Flash grunted through clenched teeth, thick Cockney accent in his voice, as he struggled to overcome his opponent, sweat trickling down his face, "you're no' 'alf-bad today. You been practicing when I'm not looking?"

The dark-skinned woman smirked and chuckled. "Maybe you're just gettin' old, Flashy-boy," she countered.

Flash chuckled. "'Member who you're talking to 'ere, rookie."

"I'm not a rookie anymore. Haven't been for a long time."

"Well, 'less you've seen some action, you're still a rookie in my book."

"Well then, by that logic, you're a rookie too."

"Maybe so. Bu' I'm the rookie who's king of this sport, and I intend on keeping it that way. Hrah!" With newfound strength, Flash slammed Spiro's fist down on the table, once again claiming his title.

The crowd around them groaned. Not again!

Flash jumped up out of his chair to his feet and pumped his fist in the air, laughing victoriously. "Ha, ha, ha! Yes! Winner and still champion!" He turned to the crowd. "Come on, pay up, the lo' o' you buggers."

Grumbling, all of the sentries dug into their pockets and wallets, each pulling out the amount of money they'd put up for the bet. Begrudgingly they threw it down on the table.

Flash scooped it up, whooping and laughing away. "Never be' on the long-shot, old chaps," he advised. "Never be' on the long-shot."

The others just rolled their eyes. Flash really needed to be put in his place, but who was going to do that? Nobody here could beat him.

"Never bet on the long-shot, eh, son?" a suddenly voice drew all their attention.

Every single sentry in the cafeteria looked over at the entrance to see their commanding officer, Captain Bullet-tongue Marx and his second in command, Sergeant Calypso Wolff, standing there. The duo could not have been more contradicting.

For one thing, the captain was male and the sergeant was female. For another they were almost exact opposites on all levels. Captain Bullet was rather tall, lanky, and awkward looking. How he had advanced to the rank of Captain, nobody knew, for it didn't look like he possessed much upper body strength or really any type of physical strength at all. Maybe he had talked his way into the position, considering he chattered so much and so fast. That was where the nickname "Bullet-tongue", had come from. He was freakishly smart and rather calm and collected as well.

Sergeant Wolff was just the opposite. Whereas Captain was tall, lanky, and awkward, she was short, stocky, and stout. Almost solid muscle, it was no question that Sergeant was powerful, which was a good thing since she wasn't all that bright. Oh, it wasn't that she was stupid—she was of average intelligence—she was just a little too hotheaded and brash to let intelligence and logic stand in her way. Her power and skill tended to more than make up for that though.

All of the sentries stopped what they were doing and leaped to their feet, drawing themselves up to attention. "Officers on deck!" one of them shouted.

"At ease," Sergeant Wolff boomed out her in her rather deep voice.

The sentries relaxed.

Wolff and Marx then came all the way into the room, heading in the direction of the arm wrestling group. "So, you're still the champ of arm wrestling, is that right, Armstead?" he questioned the young Brit.

"Ye', sir," Flash responded with a curt nod.

"How long do you plan on keeping that title?"

A cocky smirk curled Armstead's lips. "Till the AllSpark calls me home for tea 'n' crumpets, sir."

Captain Marx simply replied with a thoughtful, "Hmm." Walking past the young man, he picked up one of the chairs that had fallen over in the rush to stand and set it back up before sitting down at the table. He was quiet for a minute as he picked a piece of lint off his uniform. Finally he looked up and met Flash's eyes once more. "Would you like to arm wrestle me, Armstead?"

Heavy silence fell over the room.

After a long moment, Armstead gave a bewildered scoff. "Beg… beg pardon, sir?" he croaked out, looking a bit befuddled.

"Let me rephrase that," Captain replied calmly and with a small smile. "I challenge you to arm wrestle me, Armstead."

Once again the young British Hybrids scoffed and half-chuckled. "Are… are you sure, sir? I don' want to hurt you."

"Oh, don't worry about me, son, I can take care of myself."

Looking just as baffled, Flash exchanged glances with Spiro and a few other sentries. Was this really happening?

"You in or not, redcoat?" Sergeant Wolff questioned, growing a bit impatient. She never had been Flash's biggest fan—he was a little too cocky and sure of himself for her liking—and was eager to see him finally be put in his place. "Our are ya too scared?" she prodded.

A little bit ruffled by that accusation, Flash puffed up a little bit. "I'm game." With that, he took his usual seat at the table and began to get ready, rolling his sleeve back once more and cracking his knuckles. "What's the stakes, Captain?" he questioned.

"You win," Marx answered, "and you get half my pension for the year. I win and you give all of your comrades back the money that you won off them today and pay back the rest of the money you've racked up on bets the past year off them with your pension."

Flash laughed. "You sure you know what your wagering 'ere, Captain?"

Bullet just smirked. "As I've stated already, Armstead, don't worry about me." That said, the Hybrid Captain held his hand up. "You ready?"

Flash grabbed his hand and positioned his elbow to where it needed to be. "I was born ready, Captain."

The older Hybrid just smiled and nodded. "Sergeant Wolff," he said, not looking away from Flash, "count us down please."

Wolff came over and put a hand atop theirs. "Three," she counted, eyes going between the two as she smirked knowingly, "two, one—wrestle!" She released their hands and backed away.

Flash threw all of his strength and force into his arm and began the process of trying to force the Captain's hand down to the table. Much to his surprise, for a long moment, Captain Bullet's arm didn't move, and when it finally did, it was very slow and halting. Bullet-tongue was stronger than he let on! Grunting and gritting his teeth, Flash tried harder, but since he'd already put all of strength into the struggle, it was rather hard.

Captain Bullet grunted a bit at the pressure and the pain in his arm and hand, but then he steadily began to work his arm back in the other direction, taking Flash's down to the table. He inwardly chuckled at the sentry's awestruck stare.

"C'mon, Captain!" Sergeant Wolff cheered. "Show 'im who's boss!"

The struggle continued on for several more minutes until finally Bullet slammed Flash's hand down to the table with such force that the young Brit fell out of his seat.

"Way to go, Captain!" Wolff cheered while the rest of the crowd just stood around gobstopped and stared in disbelief.

Flash, however, looked the most shocked of any of them. From his spot on the floor, he looked as dazed as dazed can possibly be up at his commanding officer. Had that seriously just happened? Had he really just lost an arm-wrestling match to Bullet-tongue Marx—string-bean Bullet-tongue Marx?! No! It wasn't possible! This had to be a mistake—a nightmare—a hallucination—anything but real! He would never live this one down…. "Impossible…" the brown-haired, blue eyed sentry whispered.

The captain just chuckled. "I'd start making a list of how much you owe everybody if I were you, son," he said. Reaching out he patted Flash's shoulder. "The sooner the better."

All at once an alarm started to ring throughout the base, red lights flashing. It stands within reason that when something like this occurs, the soldiers leap into action, but that was not the case here at base Epsilon. Everyone simply stood there in bewilderment. In the five years the base had been active and the seniors of them had been there, the alarm had never gone off, so for it to go off now left everyone in a daze. What were they supposed to do? What was happening?

The door to the mess whooshed open again and in rushed a sentry, panting and looking as though he'd just seen a ghost. "Captain Bullet!" he exclaimed. "Captain Bullet!"

"Sentry Nugent," the captain replied, getting to his feet, "what's wrong?"

"It's an incoming space cruiser, Captain. Hybrid origin."

Captain Bullet and Sergeant Calypso exchanged a worried look. The alarm system was designed specifically to go off when one specific ship came within range of the planet. The one ship that carried the person that was the single reason they were all stationed out here on this rock to stop from coming back. "You don't mean…" Bullet's voice dropped off as he looked back at Nugent.

Sentry Nugent nodded. "I'm afraid so sir. It's the New Moon. _She_ has returned."

Bullet whipped around and took all of the other sentries into his gaze. "Everyone armor up and into battle positions!" he bellowed. "This is not a drill!" That said both he and Wolff transformed into their robot modes then into their vehicular and peeled out of the mess hall, the soldiers coming out of their daze and following after them.

"Captain…" Sergeant Wolff began.

"We don't let her pass Mars, Wolff," Bullet cut her off in a hushed tone that only she could hear. "We can't let her get to Earth."

"I know, Captain… but is that even possible? The council just barely managed to drive her off last time, and, after the Fuser, they're the most powerful of any of us Hybrids. Not to mention her powers. Captain, the humans worshipped her as Hecate for a reason."

"I am well aware, Sergeant," the mech responded. "But it can't be helped. She's back now and we all know what she's after, but it is our duty to make sure that she doesn't get it—that's the exact reason we were put out here to begin with. We must not let her get to Earth. We must stop her at all costs!"

"Yes, Captain," Wolff replied, but she still had a bad feeling about this.

The doors that led into the airlock opened as the battalion came within range and closed behind them all as they drove through. Then the outer airlock doors opened, releasing the Hybrid sentries out onto the red, desolate landscape of Mars.

Captain Marx and Sergeant Wolff screeched to and stop and transformed back to robot mode, extracting their weapons as they did. The rest of their soldiers followed suit. Everyone looked up to the sky to see a huge, dark colored war ship descending towards the planet's surface. Actually, 'huge' didn't even begin to describe the ship—it was colossal; at least twice as big as the Decepticon's own Nemesis and just as menacing in appearance!

Marx turned around to face the sentries. He could see fear in all of their optics, and he wasn't at all surprised. This was the first time any of them had seen action—or action of this magnitude anyway. Quite frankly, this was the first time he had seen action of this magnitude and he was scared himself. Nearly five years on this planet at the outpost with no action and now his deployment almost up and now this was happening. This woman sure had a bad sense of timing. "Do not show fear!" he ordered. "This is what you have been trained and stationed here for. Our duty is to prevent this ship and its inhabitants from bypassing this planet and you are going to see it out, dead or alive! The future of our breed, of Cybertron, and of the Fuser herself depends on what takes place here today, and we will not drop the torch. I will be right beside you every step of the way. We are the first and only line of defense and we hold it! We do not let her pass! We make her wish she had never tried to return to this solar system! Do not show fear!" He turned back to see that the ship was almost ready to land on the planet's surface. "Don't let her pass," he whispered to himself, flipping his battle mask down. "She doesn't get past." With that, Bullet raised his sword high and released a battle cry before charging the ship as it opened up.

Wolff did the same, just steps behind him.

The rest of the sentries took their cue from them and followed as well.

As they all neared the ship a shimmering, dark purple ring like a shockwave slammed into them with such impact that a handful of sentries' sparks were extinguished on contact. A powerful explosion soon followed.

* * *

Earth: Autobot Outpost Omega One;

Hunter awoke with a sharp gasp and sat up. Her brilliant sapphire optics darted around the room, scanning searching for any signs of danger, but all she saw was the familiar comfort of her berthroom. Releasing a heavy sigh, she held a hand over her eyes and lowered her head. "A dream," she panted in relief. "Just a dream." But it had still felt so real—even more so than any dream she'd ever had! She could still feel and see the terror of the Hybrid soldiers, still sense the unknown danger, still smell the scent of scorched metal and freshly spilled energon. She could still see that battle, as if it were happening right now before her. It had all been so real. Too real.

"Hunter?"

The Hybrid femmling looked up to see her spark-father standing there in the door that connected their rooms looking rather concerned. "Daddy?" she gulped, still trying to even out her vents and lower her spark-rate back to normal.

"I sensed your distress," he explained, coming into the room and striding over to her berth. He lowered himself to sit beside her. "Are you all right, my shooting star?" he questioned, reaching out to stroke her cheekplate lovingly.

Taking hold of this hand and nuzzling into his touch, the Fuser smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "Just a bad dream is all. At least… I _**think**_ it was just a bad dream…." She thought it over for a second and sighed frowning in uncertainty. "I dunno."

Optimus cocked his head, raised an optic ridge, and gave her a quizzical look. "Meaning?"

"Just by what I said. I don't know."

The Prime hummed and stroked his chin in deep thought for a moment before a smile slowly began to creep across his faceplate. "I believe I have the perfect solution for a situation such as this," the mech claimed. Hunter gave him a look and he grinned even more brightly. "A warm cube of energon," he chuckled. Standing up, the 'bot offered her his hand and helped her to her feet, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the base's cafeteria.

"It was real freaky," Hunter finished up relaying her dream to her father. She was sitting at one of the large, elevated, concrete and metal slabs that the 'bots used for tables in the kitchen/mess hall room of the base. Her arms were crossed on the table top and her head was tiredly resting on them. "And to make it even freakier, it felt like it wasn't even a dream. In fact it almost felt like some kind of… warning."

"From whom?" Optimus asked over his shoulder as he stood at the stove **[A/N I seriously have no idea what to call it besides that. -_-' If someone has a suggestion that sounds more Cybertronian, please, I'm all ears!]** heating up a small cube of energon.

Hunter shook her head. "Heck if I know. Your guess is as good as mine." The sixteen-year-old then sighed heavily and looked up towards the ceiling with pleading optics and raised her hands, palms upward, in a beseeching position. "For once I would like to get a peaceful night's sleep without any type of nightmare or weird premonition dreams to disturb it," she moaned. "Just once! Is that really too much to ask?!" Making a noise that sounded somewhere along the lines of a sob, her head dropped back to the table and she curled her arms around her helm, hiding her face in the circle of them.

Chuckling sympathetically, Optimus turned off the stove and carefully poured the contents of the cube out into two of the oil barrels that had been at one time washed and converted into Cybertronian sized cups. He then took up the cups and went back to the table, setting one down in front of his daughter. "I wish I could help you on that front, sweet-spark," he empathized with her, rubbing her backplate soothingly and kissing the back of her head.

"Ya know, it's probably not a good thing to say, but there are times when I really wish I wasn't the Fuser," she muttered, not lifting her head.

Her father smiled and nodded, making his way around to his seat across from her. "I know what you mean," he replied, setting into the seat. "There are still moments when I wish I had never been chosen to become a Prime."

"Everything was so much easier before," Hunter went on, lifting her head up and laying it back on her arms again in order to look at the mech. "I mean, within reason. The foster care system seriously sucked, and not having anybody love me or want to adopt me certainly didn't help, but I least I had my past experience and knowledge to go on. There was none of this battling 'cons and bounty hunters, or saving my friends from certain death, or randomly being shown visions of the future—though now that I think about it, there were times before when I had dreams that came true later on—or trying to connect with a god-like being living inside of me. This is all new territory; I have absolutely no friggin' idea what the heck I'm doing here!"

Optimus nodded and took a sip of his energon. There was just something about heat that brought out the most delicious of flavors in the aqua-blue substance. "Yes," he agreed. "It was simpler before our ascensions—much simpler." At that he closed his optics and sighed heavily, setting down his barrel. "However," he countered, "we must not linger on what was and instead focus on what is and what is to come." His sky blue optics opened and found her sapphire ones. "We are the chosen ones, Hunter," he declared softly. "For whatever reason, we have been I selected to shoulder this burden, and we must do it to the best of our abilities. The very fate of the universe lies in our hands as well as countless lives and we must not let them down. We must find a way to succeed, for if we don't… I hate to imagine the consequences."

Hunter remained silent and straight-faced for a moment, simply staring at him. Then her lipplates curled into a smirk. "Nice pep-talk there, Pops," she snickered. "Mind if I make a motivational poster outta that?"

The red and blue Autobot commander rolled his optics with a snort. Leave it to his spark-daughter to turn something serious and dramatic into something lighthearted and comical. Not that he was intentionally trying to be dramatic. "Hunter…"

"Oh, no really, it was great," she insisted teasingly. "I especially liked the "fate of the universe and countless lives lie in our hands" part and the "we have to succeed or something terrible could happen" part. Very doom-and-gloomy—just what every great pep-talk needs!"

Optimus gave her a smirk and shook his wise head. "All right, little one," he said, obviously meaning to put an end to her joking at his expense. "Enough."

His femmling giggled. "You're right though," she admitted with a sigh after a moment, looking down at her barrel of warm energon as she took it in her hands. It was just big enough she had to use two hands to hold it. "Everyone—on some level—is counting on us and we have to make sure that we don't let them down." She took a swig of energon. "I have to stop griping and complaining and suck it up." It was then that she looked up and smiled lovingly at her spark-father. "I just thank Primus that I have you here to help and support me whenever I need it."

Optimus returned her loving smile and gaze. "And I you," he murmured softly and warmly.

Setting down her barrel, Hunter reached across the table and took one of Optimus' massive hands in one of her substantially smaller ones and squeezed it. "Always, Daddy," she promised.

The mech squeezed her hand back. "Always, my shooting star," he vowed back. "No matter what separates us."

The duo remained in that position for a long moment, holding hands and smiling lovingly at one another as they gazed into each other's optics and sparks in comfortable silence, before they finally untwined their hands and picked up their barrels again. They raised them in 'cheers'.

"To always," Hunter proclaimed.

"To always," Optimus nodded.

With that they tapped their barrels together and set to work at draining them of their contents. When they had finished, Optimus stood and took both barrels back to the sink where he rinsed them out (dried on energon was an absolute glitch to wash off!). He turned back around and smiled as he saw his daughter back in the position where her head was laid on her arms. A tired look was in her optics and her yawn confirmed her weariness. The Prime chuckled. "Come along, my little one," he said, coming back over to her. "It is past your bedtime."

"Mmm," Hunter moaned the sleepy objection. "But I don't have school tomorrow."

"School or not," Optimus remarked, arms crossed over his chest and another smirk on his face, "it is important that you maintain a set bedtime. It will be better for you because you will not be so tired and better for everyone else because you will not be so irritable."

Scoffing, his spark-daughter cracked an optic open and glared up at him with it. "I am not irritable," she insisted.

The mech gave her an 'Oh really?' look.

Groaning, the Hybrid closed her optic again. "But I'm not…" she broke off into another large yawn, "… not sleepy."

Her spark-father shook his head and smiled. Reaching out he took a lock of her wires in his hand and gently, playfully tugged it. "Anyone can plainly see that is a lie."

Sighing, Hunter opened her optics and playfully glared up at him again. "Fine," she gave in.

"All right then," the mech nodded. "Up."

At that, the scarlet and black-and-silver striped femmling sat up and put on one of the sweetest, most adorable, most innocent smiles she could conjure up and batted her eyes. "Legs won't work," she stated in a small, 'little girl' voice. She held her arms up, reaching for her father. "Carry me?"

Playing along, the Prime put his hands on his hips and shifted all of his weight onto one foot. "If I carry you," he began with a knowing look on his faceplate, "will you go right into stasis?"

"Uh-huh."

Optimus released an overdramatic sigh, as though he were suffering himself to a very arduous and unwanted task, when in actuality he was rather looking forward to carrying his daughter and cradling her close. He loved holding her, whether he was carrying her or simply embracing her. When she was in his arms he was absolutely certain that she was safe and would remain that way for the duration she was there. He didn't have to worry about Decepticons (particularly Starscream), or anyone wanting to hurt her, or boys (_**especially **_boys—he'd already had a few encounters with them already), or any type of danger from coming to her. And if danger did try to come at her while she was in his arms, Primus help them because they wouldn't be a threat to her for much longer. "Very well," he relented. "I shall carry you, but just this once."

The femmling giggled, "You always say that."

The mech reached down and scooped her up in his massive, rich red arms, holding her as though she was no bigger than a sparkling. In comparison to their statures, she very rightly could have been, for even though Hunter was rather large compared to most femmlings her age, she was still small when compared to Optimus. "Yes, and I always mean it," he professed, settling her comfortably against his chestplate.

"Until the next time," Hunter snickered, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning her head against his shoulder.

Her father chuckled. "Yes," he admitted in a whisper, nuzzling her face. "Until the next time." He gently kissed her forehead. His precious, beautiful, sixteen-year-old, baby girl. The mech began to exit the cafeteria and head back towards their berth rooms, the sway of his gait rocking the femmling in his arms.

"Sing to me, Daddy?" Hunter requested all of a sudden, using her small voice again. She smiled that adorable little smile of hers up at him again and batted her optic shutters. "Pwease?"

"You do not need to affect the 'l', love," Optimus quietly laughed. "Of course I will sing to you. I will always sing for you."

"Yay," the child murmured as she snuggled closer to his chest.

With that, Optimus rested his chin atop her helm and began to softly sing to her.

"_**Hush, my little one, no need to weep,**_

_**I am right here, guarding your sleep.**_

_**Close your eyes, sweet-spark, in my arms I will rock…**_

_**You, beautiful sweet-spark, you I will rock.**_

"_**No need to cry, little one of mine.**_

_**No need to fear.**_

_**My love will be with you.**_

_**My love will be near.**_

_**I'll be near.**_

"_**Sleep now, my dear one, all will be well**_

_**I will protect you, and protect you I shall.**_

_**Slip away, small one, slip off to dream**_

_**Tomorrow is far closer at hand than it seems…**_

_**Than it seems.**_

"_**No need to cry, little one of mine**_

_**No need to fear.**_

_**My love will be with you.**_

_**My love will be near.**_

_**I'll be near.**_

"_**Dream peaceful things, dream only good**_

_**And I will keep out the nightmares, as my love only could.**_

_**Dream of the sun, and of peaceful rains falling**_

_**Rise to the sun's calling.**_

"_**No need to cry…**_

_**No need to fear…**_

_**My love will be near…**_

_**I'll… be… near.**_

"_**I'll always love you, my little one**_

_**And will do so, till my passing's come.**_

_**I love you more than Cybertron.**_

_**Drift off, my child, drift off and dream**_

_**Worry not of tomorrow or the dark.**_

_**I will guide you and not leave 'til morning light.**_"

By the time Optimus had finished he was at the door to Hunter's room. He looked down at the miracle in his hold to see that she was nuzzled into his chest, fast asleep already. He smiled, spark melting at her sparkling-like innocence that never failed to show through in moments like this. She truly was his shooting star. His precious shooting star. And he'd be fragged to let anything or anyone take her away from him. She belonged to him and he belonged to her and to Pit with anyone who disrespected, questioned, or challenged that.

Pushing the door open with his shoulder, Optimus moved out of the hall and into the dark room and closed the door once again with a foot. He then moved across the room towards her berth. Carefully he laid her down upon the concrete surface, placed her stuffed wolf Blue in her arms and smiled as she pulled the animal closer, and pulled her thermal tarp up, tucking her in just the way she liked. Then he leaned down and kissed the scar that cut across her left optic. "I will always be here for you, Hunter," he whispered, rubbing her shoulderplate. "No one will ever be able to take us away from each other. I promise you. I love you, my precious one."

* * *

Mars;

The Hybrid femme stood atop one of the mountains, hands folded behind her back, the sun gleaming off her armor of rich wine and dusty violet. Her vivid raspberry colored optics gazed far off into the distance of space in the direction of her destination: Earth. For five years she had traveled the deep darkness of space. For five years she had waited patiently, honing her skills, growing more powerful and confident in them. And now, after five years of exile, her long-awaited wish was finally coming true. She was finally returning. Soon her plan would be set in motion. Soon she would restore the honor of her family's name and no one would be able to stop her.

The sound of approaching footsteps reached her audio-receptors and a few seconds later large, strong arms of gold and copper encircled her waist. She was pulled flush against a large, solid, warm body. Gentle lipplates found her neck cables and the owner of them began to gentle kiss and caress her with them, nibbling occasionally here and there. Sighing happily, she leaned back against the figure and closed her eyes. She smiled and she tilted her head ever so slightly to give him better access. "Mmm," she moaned, her silky voice a purr. "That feels nice."

A deep, rumbling chuckle replied. "I thought you might like that," a deep voice whispered into her audio-receptor.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked, still looking off into space.

"We are, my love," the mech answered. "All of the sentries have been dealt with—we've found no survivors among them."

"We're so close," the femme remarked. "By this time two days from now, we'll be back on earth."

"Yes," her spark-mate agreed with a nod. "And then we may begin our work."

"I can sense her, Ray. I can sense her power. She is strong."

"Good," Ray said. "The stronger she is the better."

"Yes," she conceded. "However, the stronger she is, the harder it will be to obtain her."

"You will succeed, Luna," Ray burred. "You always do." He pressed another kiss to her shoulderplating.

"Yes," Luna agreed once more. "I always succeed. Nothing will stop me from succeeding." Pulling away from her mate, the femme began to trek back towards the New Moon. "We are now within range; contact my disciples," she ordered. "Let them know that it is time to begin the project. Let them know that their mistress has finally returned."

* * *

**Confession #2:**

** For those of you who didn't know, the song Hunter always asks Optimus to sing to her—'A Prime's Lullaby'—is actually loosely written to the tune of Taylor Swift's 'Safe and Sound'.**

**Confession #3: **

** This chapter is actually named after episode 8 of the first season of 'Justice League Unlimited'. **


	3. A Day in the Life

***NOTE TO READERS: IF YOU DON'T READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF MY CHAPTERS, PLEASE START DOING THAT. I HAVE THESE HERE FOR A REASON.***

**Yay! New update! We get more action next chapter, people, trust me. I just thought it would be good to see some of the domestic life at the base. Couldn't help myself from sneaking some tension in there with Luna. And I all hope you laugh at Hunter's training session scene—I know I did!**

**AllSpark Princess—I guess we'll find out.**

**WolfAssassin369—We most certainly do!**

**Alice Gone Madd—I know right? Even I didn't know until I started typing that chapter! It was like, "Wait, what?! The Hybrids have a guard post set up on Mars? Oh, my Primus—that is so cool!"**

**SunnySides—Thank you so much! I might have to go back and type one of those in. As for where I get the quotes before each chapter? Most of them are song lyrics. I've basically grown up on music—all kinds: Christian, Metal, Pop, Hip Hop, Country, Classical, old stuff, new stuff, everything. A lot of the lyrics I use are from songs that I know, but sometimes I do go Google searching for a good song to use. It's rather entertaining.**

**Gabby M (a.k.a. Shadescribe)—I'll never tell. ;P**

**Also, guys, I could use some help. I'm planning on writing a guide about Hybrids—sort of a Hybrid 101. I'm using it for me as a tool to completely figure Hybrids out and I also plan on posting it up later because I think some people would find it interesting to read. I already have some ideas for topics that should be covered, but I would LOVE it if you guys submitted me questions about Hybrids that you would like answers to, this way I know exactly what to answer. You can submit these questions via comments or PMs. Thanks, guys!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"This is the life! Hold on tight. And this is the dream—it's all I need! You never know where you'll find it. And I'm gonna take my time—yeah! I'm just gettin' it right. This is the life…" Hannah Montana; _This is the Life_

3

Ω A Dies in Vita Ω

(A Day in the Life)

"Mmmm, gummy bears!" Hunter exclaimed as the grabbed the huge, economy sized pack and held it, staring at the package as though she'd just discovered a chest of gold. In many ways, this was way better. You couldn't eat gold! Well, technically speaking, you probably could, but you would be seriously stupid to do so and get sick from it. You couldn't do that with gummy bears. Well… okay, you could if you ate too many, but that fact remains that when comparing gold and gummy bears—gummy bears: _**way**_ better! Pirouetting around, Hunter lovingly placed the chewy, fruity, juicy candy bears into the cart and skipped off further down the aisle.

Optimus, in his holoform, reached down into the cart and pulled out the bag of gummy bears, turning it over he examined the label carefully and sighed heavily. He looked up to see Hunter crouched down, examining products on the lower shelves. "Hunter," he said, "Sweet-spark, when you said that the refrigerator at the base needed to be restocked, I was not under the impression you meant for it to be restocked with… junk food."

Hunter looked up at him with a teasing smirk and cocked eyebrow. "Well, what did you think I meant, Dad?" she laughed. "Broccoli and cauliflower?"

"No," the Prime answered with a shake of his head, "but I thought you would be picking out foods that are essential for a well-balanced diet as well as the sweets and snacks. But so far all you have acquired are," he looked down into the cart and listed of the objects there, "chocolate bars, M&amp;Ms, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, several kinds of licorice," Prime shivered at the thought of the licorice—he was not all that fond of the smell, "several different kinds of chips, a variety of Little Debbie snacks, and now the gummy bears among other things." He looked back up at his daughter in time to see her placing yet another item in the basket. He reached in right after she'd set it down and presented with the quizzical expression. "Cookies?" he questioned with a tone that translated as "really?".

Hunter shrugged and smiled innocently, batting her eyes.

Her spark-father gave her a look and handed the cookies back to her. "Put them away," he ordered.

As if she had been deflated, Hunter slumped and gave him a look of disbelief. "Aw! What? Why?"

"Because I am your father and I said so," Optimus answered simply. He pushed the cart on past her down the aisle.

Hunter looked after him with an exasperated expression. "Okay, seriously?" she asked, coming after him. She hurried around in front of the cart and braced her hands against the basket, using just enough of her superstrength to immobilize the cart without damaging it. "Dad, I am sixteen-years-old, not six. The ever faithful tactic of "because I said so" doesn't work on me anymore."

"All right," Optimus shrugged, looking completely unfazed. "Put it back, because if you don't you have an extra training session early in the morning as well as a double patrol for a week."

Again with the look of shock. "You gotta be joking! Just for buying a package of Oreos?"

"No, not just for that, but because you are loading up on snacks that are nothing but pure salt and sugar when you should be balancing that out with more healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and protein. Sweet-spark, I am not at all averse to you and your friends having candy and chips around the base, but it is my job as your father to make sure that you eat healthfully. I do not need you becoming sick." He gave the child a tender smile and reached out to brush some hair out of her beautiful face. "I do this because I love you, Hunter," he assured her. "I only want what is best for you."

Hunter gazed into his eyes for a moment—the eyes that always seemed to be able to see straight through her and into her very spark. How could she possibly say 'no' when he looked at her like that? This must be like what it was like for him when she used her puppy-eyes on him. Finally the redhead sighed and caved. "All right," she conceded, looking down at the floor. "I'll cut back on the junk food and get some healthy stuff too."

Optimus smiled and patted her cheek. "Good girl," he praised her lovingly.

"How about… 50/50?" the teen suggested, trying to work out a compromise. "Fifty percent health food, fifty percent junk food."

"Mm-mm," Optimus hummed disapprovingly. "I would say would 25/75."

"75 percent junk food?" Hunter asked hopefully.

Smirking, Optimus shook his head with a chuckle. "No," he stated. "75 percent healthy foods."

Once again, Hunter slumped in defeat. "Aw, man!"

Still chuckling the Autobot commander squeezed her shoulder. "Trust me, my love," he purred, "you will thank me for this later."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna be the one to explain to the gang why there's, like, virtually no snacks at the base," Hunter warned him deviously. She put the Oreos into the cart and started sifting through the items to see what could stay and what had to be put back. The gummy bears would stay. That was a must!

"May I ask why earthling teenagers have such…" he tried to find the right word—he was thinking "obsession" but that seemed a bit extreme, "… a passion for these types of foods?" Optimus watched on as his daughter sorted through the treats and was greatly relieved when he saw her taking the licorice out of the cart and putting it back.

Hunter scoffed and grinned at him. "Why wouldn't we?" she said by way of answer. "There's nothing better that stuffing yourself on yummy-nummy, gooey, creamy goodies and getting sugar-rush!"

"Ah, yes, the sugar-rush," Optimus sighed with a roll of his eyes. He knew the concept well. He'd seen the children—particularly Miko—on a sugar-high on more than one occasion. But as frightening as that had been, human sugar-rushes turned out to be nothing when compared to those of a Hybrid, particularly an "uber-Hyrbid" (as the children had taken to describing her) such as Hunter. Needless to say that was the last time Optimus allowed his daughter to mix her energon and pop together.

"In fact," Hunter went on, "the only thing better than that is gorging yourself on chips that are so dry they sap the very moisture right out of your mouth."

"How is that pleasant, exactly?"

"You get to wash them down with a fizzy soft-drink!"

"That does not sound at all healthy."

"Who cares? It tastes fantastic!"

Optimus smiled as he shook his head at the girl. Hunter was usually so responsible and ate healthy, but the way she went on about junk food would make anyone who didn't know her think her entire diet consisted of chocolate, Cheetos, Twinkies, and root beer. "This is exactly why we need to buy more healthy food and less junk food from now on." With the cart mostly emptied of the sugar and salt laden goodies, the Prime made an approving nod at his daughter and pushed the cart on.

Sighing heavily and looking wistfully at the tasty treats lining the shelves that taunted her as they marched past them, Hunter weaved her arm through one of her father's and laid her head on his holoform shoulder. She looked up at him accusingly as she kept pace with him. "You realize it is criminally inhumane to deny a girl her chocolate, right?"

Optimus laughed. "You still have your package of chocolate bars," he reminded her as they rounded the corner of the next aisle.

"But you made me put back the Reese's and M&amp;Ms and Snickers and Twix."

"I did not make you put back anything. You decided what to keep and what to put back on your own."

"You used "Jedi mind tricks" on me to make me think that."

"Believe me when I tell you that you are much too stubborn and strong-minded to be influenced in that way."

"Yeah, but you're my dad. You have stronger mind tricks."

Optimus chuckled, pulled his arm out of her grip and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Well, I am sorry to deprive you, my shooting star," he murmured as he kissed the crown of her head. "But when Halloween comes around this year I will allow you to keep all of your candy and eat as much as you want… within reason of course."

Hunter's pout suddenly transformed into a beaming grin. That's right! This would be her first year really trick-or-treating! The last time she'd trick-or-treated had been when she was with her first foster family and had been so long ago she hardly remembered it—didn't even remember the costume she'd worn or if she'd even had one. Every Halloween since then she was usually back in the orphanage and the orphanage didn't celebrate Halloween. The few times in between when she had been with a family year she was old enough to out with other rough-cut kids tricking rather than treating. And last year she hadn't been in the mood for it. In short, to say that she was excited to actually get to trick-or-treat this year would be an understatement. Who cared if she was sixteen?! Then the excitement came crashing down as Hunter remembered what the current date was. "But it's still, like two months away!" she groaned, pouting again.

Optimus squeezed her against his side reassuringly. "It will be here before you know it."

"That's easy for you to say," Hunter mumbled. "You're an adult. You're not looking forward to it like I am."

Optimus smiled and nuzzled her temple lovingly. "My dearest spark," he purred, "of course I am looking forward to it. I always look forward to what you look forward to because I know you will enjoy yourself. It lifts my spark to see you happy."

Hunter couldn't help but smile at that. Lifting her head she Eskimo kissed him.

The Autobot commander chuckled warmly and returned the kiss before unwrapping her from his arm and pushing her off down the aisle. "Come now," he said. "We still have shopping to do."

Hunter smirked over her shoulder. "It is _**so**_ weird to hear you say that," she declared.

Optimus smiled sheepishly and shook his head. "Not as strange as it is to say," he admitted. He began pushing the cart again.

Hands folded behind her back, Hunter half-skipped on down the aisle, looking for the bread she and the kids usually used at the base to make sandwiches. She knew her father was right and she had to get healthier foods, but she still wished she'd been able to keep all of those tasty treats she'd had before. A devious idea came to her and she smirked. Spinning around, the sixteen-year-old skipped backwards and smiled at her spark-father who in turn smiled at her. "Hey, Daad-dy," she said, dragging out the 'Daddy' so that she sounded much younger than she was.

"Yes, sweet-spark?"

"D'ya know what would make me really happy?"

Already realizing what she was getting at the Prime smirked back and shook his head with a chuckle. "No."

Hunter pouted. Dang it! "You're really no fun sometimes, ya know that?" she remarked.

Optimus simply beamed. "I must be doing my job then," he commented.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, what kind of father would I be if I was fun all of the time?"

"A seriously cool one?"

The holoform chuckled once again. "Hunter, this may come as a disappointment to you, but I would much rather be a good father to you than a "seriously cool" one."

The girl stuck her tongue out at him. Turning back around to found the brand of bread she wanted, pulled two bags off the shelf and brought them back to the cart, gently plopping them into the basket. Perching a hand on a cocked hip, she gave her commander and father a look. "You're a fuddy-duddy," she stated flatly.

Optimus raised an eyebrow and gave her a disapproving look. He didn't much like being called a "fuddy-duddy"… whatever that actually was. He had never been able to find mention of it in any form of the earthling dictionary, but taking it from the context earthlings usually used it, particularly his daughter, he knew it wasn't flattering. The mech was about to reprimand her when he came up with a much better idea. He smirked. "Well," he chuckled a bit ominously, bowing his head down to her height, "perhaps you would like to try your chances at finding another father who is "seriously cool"."

Hunter smirked and shook her head. "Nah," she replied. "Nobody else would want me—you know that." Chuckling, the teen turned around and started to walk away again as she said, "Honestly I'm still trying to figure out why you want me, Dad. Other than being the Fuser I'm nothing special—whoa!" The girl's wrist was suddenly snagged in a solid but tender grip and she was spun around to face the stern eyes of her father as they all but glared into hers.

Keeping her gaze, Optimus shook his head adamantly. "No," he stated, his voice firm, "you're wrong, Hunter—you are most undoubtedly special. I honestly cannot see why no one else has been able to see that when it is so abundantly clear. I am not simply saying that because of your title either."

His daughter stared at him in startled surprise for a moment before giving him a knowing smirk. She snorted. "Of course you're gonna say that," she said. "You're my father."

Optimus shook his head just as firmly, his gaze hardening and his lips drawing into a thin, straight line. "No," he repeated, "I say it because it is true. And anyone who doesn't see that truth, anyone who disagrees with or challenges it is a damned fool who will have to answer to me."

Hunter's eyes slightly widened. Whoa! Optimus rarely ever talked like that—he really did mean business! Touched by his words, a small smiled curled the teen's lips and she felt the slightest hint of tears pricking at her eyes. She really did have the greatest Dad ever! Who cared if it was only by spark-link? Hunt lunged forward and embraced the holoform tightly, nuzzling into its chest. She knew the figure was only made of super-charged hard-light particles and—while it seemed so completely lifelike—was 99.9% synthetic. She also knew that the arms that held her, the warm body she could snuggle up to for love and protection were simply a proportionate recreation of an actual adult human male. But the voice and the words the holoform spoke, the loving warmth it showered her with, the very consciousness it possessed when it was functioning—those were all Optimus himself. Those were all her father. "**My **_father_," Hunter thought to herself, warmth flooding throughout her entire being. She never got tired of that phrase. "You're the greatest, Dad."

Optimus smiled and hugged her in return. He planted an adoring kiss to the crown of her head and rubbed her back. "You're my little femmling, Hunter," he murmured lovingly. "You will always be my little femmling."

Hunter giggled and looked up at him, bumping her nose against his and nuzzling him. "And you'll always be my fuddy-duddy Dad," she teased.

Optimus chuckled. If it meant having a beautiful, affectionate, loyal daughter like Hunter, maybe being a fuddy-duddy wasn't so bad after all. "And I will always be proud to be so."

Grinning from ear to ear, Hunter kissed his cheek, popping her foot up as she did so. It was a Hallmark moment. "I love you, Daddy," she chirped happily.

The Prime squeezed affectionately. He would never tire of hearing those words! "I love you too, Hunter," he returned. He would never grow tired of saying them either.

A chuckle drew the duo's attention from each other over to a man who was coming down the aisle towards them. He looked to be somewhere in his late twenties, early thirties and was very obviously a father, considering he had a child of toddler age in the seat of the cart and was carrying an infant papoose style in one of those baby slings. "Fatherhood," he said to Optimus with a grin, "the best job in the world, huh?"

Optimus smiled back at the man and nodded his wise head. "Yes," he agreed with him before turning back to gaze devotedly at his own child. The light of his life. The absolute best thing that had ever happened to him. "The very best."

Hunter blushed and ducked her head as she hugged the mech again.

* * *

Optimus couldn't help but smile and chuckle quietly at his two passengers. After they'd finished shopping, the Prime and Hunter had stopped by Jasper's elementary school to pick up Annabelle Lennox as they had promised Sarah and Will. (They were tired up with a doctor's appointment—Hunter was almost positive she knew what it was about.) And, as so often happened when the two picked up the seven-year-old after school, Optimus was being introduced to some more of the "tweeny-bop" music as Hunter called it.

Annabelle usually carried around a small CD case in her backpack so that she would be able to take her favorite music wherever she went. The case held several Kidz Bop CDs, as well as all the High School Musical soundtracks, Hannah Montana albums, and the albums from different Disney animated movies. Each time she rode with them, the seven-year-old would pop a new CD into the Prime's player. "I'm helping Hunter make your music plate bigger," Annabelle always chirped happily. Optimus didn't mind. He wouldn't say any of it was his favorite form of Earth music, bit it would definitely be worse. There was a certain, bouncy, happily infectious feel to most of the songs. Besides, Annabelle and Hunter both had a good time with them. (Hunter would never admit to anyone else that she jammed out with a first grader to Kidz Bop, and she'd sworn the Prime to secrecy as well.)

As it was, Hunter and Annabelle were both jamming out to a Hannah Montana CD and singing along to the music at the top of their lungs. "I got everything I always wanted! Livin' the dream. So yeah, everything I always wanted—isn't always what is seems. I'm a lucky girl whose dreams came true. But underneath it all I'm just like you."

"I think this song is about you, Hunter," Annabelle suddenly proclaimed, as she continued to "dance" to the music.

A bit caught off guard by the statement, Hunter stopped "dancing" and looked over at the child with an amused look. "What makes you say that?" she asked. The teen wasn't all that sure she wanted to be compared to Miley Cyrus. Of course, when Miley had been Hannah Montana she hadn't been all that bad, so maybe that's the line Annabelle was going along.

"Well, Miley Stuart is Hannah Montana," Annabelle began to explain, "and in this song she's singing about how she's both a rock star and how she's still like everyone else."

"And?" Hunter prodded, leaning back in her father's driver's seat.

Optimus waited, listening intently.

"Well, you're the Fuser," Annabelle continued. "Isn't the Fuser kind of like a rock star?"

Hunter couldn't help but smirk and chuckle. Primus, if only Annabelle knew what had happened on her first day and Olympus High and what still continued to go on now. "A lotta the time it feels that way, 'Belle," she answered.

"But even though you're the Fuser, you're still Hunter. You have a normal life, too… kinda. So you have a double life, too—you're the Fuser but at the same time you're just like everyone else."

Optimus chuckled and nodded to himself. "You may have a point there, Annabelle," he agreed.

"Yeah, except pretty much everyone who knows me knows I'm the Fuser," Hunter commented. "Maybe I should've taken on a secret identity like Miley, too."

"I could be like Lily when she's Lola!" Annabelle offered excitedly. "I want the pink wig!"

Both Hunter and Optimus laughed.

* * *

Optimus came to a stop in the central room of the Autobot base and opened his doors to let his passengers out. Annabelle emerged carrying two shopping bags and Hunter came out with three times as many dangling from her hands. "Okay, all human inhabitants of Autobot Outpost Omega One," she called out, "if you want to lay claim to any of this food at some point in the future I suggest you help unload and put it away. Otherwise I claim it all as mine and none of you get any!"

"Ugh!" a female groan came from the couch up on the living room area of the catwalk. "Whatever you say, _**Mom**_." Miko and Raf both stood up from the couch and made their way towards the stairs and down to the main floor. They came over and grabbed the few bags that were left.

Hunter smiled. "Thank you," she said in a sweet voice.

The kids all made their way out of the room and down the hall towards the mess hall.

"So does Jack not get any of this then?" Miko asked.

"Of course he does," Hunter answered. "He's working—he can't help that he's not here to help out."

"That hardly seems fair," Miko grumbled.

"Whoever said life was fair, Miko?" Hunter challenged with a smirk.

The Japanese foreign exchange student growled.

"Don't mind Miko, Hunter," Raf snickered. "She's just mad because I beat her at _Redline Race _twice today."

"Twice?" Hunter asked in surprise, looking down at the thirteen-year-old. When Raf nodded his confirmation she grinned from ear to ear and nudged him with her arm. "Way to go, bud!"

"Yay, Raffie!" Annabelle cheered as well.

"I still say you cheated," Miko snarled.

"How could I have cheated?" Raf demanded to know with a smirk.

"I don't know how," the girl replied, "but you must've, because I don't get beat!"

"Yeah, but you did today," Raf taunted.

Hunter laughed. "Come on, Miko, give Raf some credit. He's been training hard with 'Bee at the videogames."

"I still say he cheated."

Hunter rolled her eyes and they all mounted the steps of the mess hall catwalk where the human eating area was. "So, anything exciting happening at school?" Hunter asked as they all started to put food away. "Or am I being too optimistic?"

"Actually, you did miss a little tidbit the other day," Raf replied over his shoulder.

"Really? What was that?"

"You know Sierra, right?" Miko asked.

Hunter turned around and leaned up against the counter, arms crossed over her chest. "The head cheerleader?" she questioned. "Yeah, I know her. She tried to recruit me to the cheer squad after that first day in math class when I fought Vince and his gang." The redhead snorted. "She had a prayer. Why, what about her?"

"She made a complete idiot out of her herself," Miko snickered.

"Ah," Hunter said with a devilish smile. "I like the sound of this, so far. What happened?"

"The other day at lunch someone at the table she was sitting at must have said something really funny," Raf went on, "because milk came flying out her nose."

"Say what?!" Hunter laughed in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Miko exclaimed. "Aw, dude, you shoulda seen it. The two cheerleaders sitting across from her just got drenched with milk and snot and boogers—it was hilarious!"

"I can pull it up on Facebook if you wanna see it," Raf offered.

"Please?" Hunter practically begged. "Laughed so hard milk came flying out her nose—ha,ha!—classic!"

"What about Hy-school?" Raf asked. "Anything exciting going on there?"

The Hybrid's smile suddenly faded and she looked down at the floor, sighing tediously. "I wish. I mean, other than getting mobbed by my fangirls and fanboys practically every day I show up, it's pretty boring. Nothing exciting ever happens when I'm there."

"All the more incentive to not go more than twice a week," Miko commented.

"'Bout sums it up," Hunter nodded.

All of a sudden, Optimus came through the door into the room and walked over to them. "Good afternoon, Miko, Raf," he addressed the humans with a friendly smile and nod.

"Hey, Optimus," Raf greeted back.

"What's shakin', Bacon?" Miko asked at the same time.

Hunter's eyes widened in horror and she shook her hand frantically, waving her arms around, trying to get Miko to stop. But it was too late. The words had already left her friend's mouth, and the damage had been done.

"Nothing much, Double Dutch," Optimus quickly replied. He smiled, utterly proud of himself for using a "humanism".

Raf and Miko stare at the Autobot commander for a long moment before looking over at Hunter. The girl's face—which was now as red as her hair—was buried in her hands in mortification. She shook her head. "I swear upon the AllSpark I did not teach him that," she moaned in embarrassment. "That was Epps. That was all Epps!"

Optimus chuckled and shook his head at his daughter. More and more often he was discovering just how much fun it could be to gently embarrass your children in front of their friends. The Prime then turned his attention towards the youngest of the group. "Annabelle, you left this in my cab." He held up a Frozen backpack and handed it back to the child. "I thought you might like to have it back."

"Thanks, Optimus!" the little girl chirped, jumping up to snag it out of his hand. She hugged it to her lovingly with a happy smile on her face. Ever since she'd gotten it for her birthday from Hunter, that backpack was one of her most prized possessions. She would even going around bragging about how she got it from "her big adopted sister Hunter" to the other kids she was so proud of it. All at once, Annabelle's face lit up. "Ooh! I almost forgot. Hunter, Optimus, I made you two a present today at school."

"You did?" Hunter asked with a smile.

"That is very thoughtful of you, Annabelle," Optimus remarked.

Annabelle opened up her pack and began to rummage through the clutter in it. After a minute or two she pulled out a Hello Kitty folder and opened it, leafing through the paper that was inside. "Here we go!" she chirruped, having found what she was looking for. She pulled out a large piece of construction paper that was folded in half that had the words 'From Annabelle' on the front and turned to Hunter. "Here you go," she beamed, handing the paper over.

Grinning at the child, Hunter opened the paper up. An immediate sensation of love and warmth flooded over her and touched the very center of her being.

Scrawled across the white page in colorful crayon was a scribbled, horizontal image that could only be considered as acceptable art from a small child or from a famous artist of abstract. A little less than a fourth of the page had been colored in green, obviously to display grass, and the rest of it was colored blue with a few puffy clouds and a smiling sun in the top right corner. Amidst the sky and grass were two people. Both were rather tall, their heads only about a centimeter or two short of the top of the page, and were drawn so that they appeared to be hugging. The shorter of the two was obviously female, judging from her very long red hair, big red lips, and eyelashes, and looked rather content with her smile and closed eyes as the second figure seemed to be kissing her forehead. The second figure was a bit taller and was male with short black hair, a thick black beard, and looked just as happy as the girl he held in his arms.

Around the figures was drawn a big red heart. Pointing to the figures on their corresponding sides of the paper were big black arrows at the ends of the arrows were words. 'Hunter' was printed on the girl's. On the man's side there was an 'Op' with a big 'X' through it to cross it out since Annabelle probably hadn't been sure how to spell Optimus' name and didn't want to offend him by spelling it wrong, and below that was the label she'd settled for: 'Her daddy'.

Still smiling, Hunter walked across the catwalk and over to her father to show him. After he'd seen it Optimus shared a loving gaze with spark-daughter before she leaned her head against her father's chin and he ever so slightly leaned into her touch. As disproportionate and embellished as the drawing was—Hunter's hair only reached her waist and not her ankles, nor did she have big red lips, and Optimus' holoform possessed only a mustache and slight stubble instead of a full blown beard—it was an extremely sweet present for the two. In the simplest way possible it clearly described the love they had for each other and the bond that they shared. No better description was needed. They were also thankful that Annabelle had been clever enough to draw Optimus in his holoform and Hunter in her organic form instead of their Cybertronian ones. That could only have led to unwanted questions.

"Do you like it?" Annabelle asked of Optimus and Hunter, sounding and looking a little bit nervous.

Both the girl and the 'bot smiled at the child.

"Of course we do, little one," Prime answered warmly.

"We love it," Hunter responded at the same time. "In fact…." The teen walked back over to the refrigerator and hung up the picture there before standing back with her hands on her hips. She motioned to the picture and smiled at Annabelle. "There. Now everyone will be able to see it."

Grinning a mile wide, Annabelle jumped up and down in the air, whooping with excitement. Her picture was hanging on the refrigerator! That was the biggest honor ever! The blonde-haired child then lunged forward and jumped up to hug her sister figure, barely even managing to snag the tall teen around the waist.

Laughing, Hunter hugged the little girl back. To think a little over a year ago she'd hardly ever received hugs from anyone and now she was under constant bombardment with them from almost everyone she knew! Not that the redhead minded. She'd always been something of a hugger.

"Awww!" Miko teased, looking at the two girls as if they were the cutest things she'd ever seen.

"Hallmark moment," Raf laughed.

Hunter looked up at them with a playful glare. "Take it and shove it," she growled, though it was plain to see she was smiling.

Her friends laughed.

Optimus chuckled and shook his head at the children. "Hunter," he said, gaining her attention, "I have a meeting with Agent Fowler this afternoon, so I will be unable to supervise your training. However, Bulkhead and Bumblebee are free this afternoon, so they will take my place."

Hunter groaned. She hated it when Bulkhead and Bumblebee watched her train. They were the epitome of older brothers, always teasing and making fun of her whenever she missed a target or got trounced. The Hybrid already knew she had terrible aim with her guns and she knew her defensive combat was less than desirable—she didn't need constant outside reminders of it. "Dad, we've got the simulator now," she pointed out, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't have to the boys in the training room with her. "All I need to really do now is turn on the switch and fight. Do I really need Bulk and 'Bee with me?"

"They may not be the ones training you," Optimus conceded with a nod, "but the simulator is still rather new and we don't fully know how it works or what it will do. I would feel much more comfortable to have them in there with you in case something were to go wrong with it."

Hunter wanted to retort, but she couldn't find anything to say to that. Just as always, her spark-father was right, and she couldn't see anyway of proving him wrong. And, to be frank, she really didn't like the idea of being all alone with that simulator in case it did go haywire. Sighing in defeat, the girl hung her head and nodded.

"Can we watch, too?" Miko asked eagerly.

"No," Hunter answered flatly without hesitation.

"Aw, come on!" Miko whined.

"No, Miko."

"But, Hunter…" Raf chimed in.

"I said no," the teen interrupted him adamantly. "And that's final." It was then the sixteen-year-old felt arms wrap around her leg and she looked down to see Annabelle hugging her leg, cheek pressed against her outer thigh, and looking up at her with her face puppy eyes.

"Please, Hunter?" the little girl begged in a small voice. "Please?" She stuck out her bottom lip and made her puppy eyes even sadder. She even went so far as to whimper.

Hunter bit her lip, feeling her resolve starting to crumble. Those eyes! Those damned, baby-blue, puppy eyes! How could she say 'no' to that? The teen let go a groan.

* * *

The New Moon;

Luna sat on her throne in the bridge of her spaceship, raspberry eyes trained on the window and out into the deep dark space beyond. Though she couldn't see it yet, she knew that Earth was growing ever closer. Only a few more days and they would arrive. Then she would put her plan into motion, and nothing would be able to stop it.

"My Lady," a voice drew the Hybrid out of her thoughts.

Luna looked down to see one of her subjects kneeling at her feet in their organic form. She made a motion with her hand. "Rise," she ordered, "and transform. You know very well that whatever form I am in will be the form you take as well."

The Acolyte rose and quickly transformed, fear in his eyes. "Yes, my Lady, of course."

"Speak. What do you have to tell me?"

"We have been able to contact a coven of your disciples on Earth. They are celebrating and look forward to your glorious return. They are also awaiting your intructions."

The femme was quiet for a minute, pondering what actions, if any, she wanted them to take. "I do not want too much activity right away," she declared after a moment. "That could raise suspicion. However, I would like one of them—preferably one who knows something about stealth—to take up post and watch the girl. I want to see just exactly how strong and capable she has become. The more I know, the better."

"Yes, Mistress," the Acolyte replied with a bow. "But, if I may ask, how will they know where she is and if she is the one?"

"Simple," Luna replied. "Before we were banished, the last time I saw the child I cast a spell upon her so that I would be able to find her again. There is a blue, glowing aura around her that can only be seen by my eyes or the eyes of those loyal to me. Find the glow, and you will know."

The Acolyte stared at his Mistress in sheer awe. "Yes, my Lady." With that he bowed again and exited the room, the door closing behind him.

Luna turned her attention back to the cosmos, hands clasped under her chin. "I know you're out there, my child," she murmured to herself. "I can sense you. You will be mine again, all in due time. All in due time."

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

"So, uh, what is this thing exactly?" Bulkhead asked as he, Bumblebee, and the kids stood off to the side, watching as Hunter was crouched down on the floor beside a metal disk.

"It's an HBS—Hybrid Battle Simulator," Hunter answered as she read the instruction data pad for the device. "They have them at Olympus High."

"What do they use them for?" Raf questioned.

"Training—help kids with their powers mostly. They'll use to help kids learn combat too."

"So what does it do?" Miko asked.

"Well, I've only seen them used once," Hunter admitted as she continued to read, "but the HBS is supposed to scan you, level up to the range of your powers and cabilities, and then spars you."

/_**So how exactly did we end up with one?**_\\\ 'Bee inquired.

"Greasy convinced the school to let us buy one from them. As the Fuser finding an opponent that is on all the same levels of power as I am isn't exactly easy. Greasy figured that an HBS would give me that opportunity and Dad agreed." Hunter continued to read through the instructions. "Hmm," she hummed with intrigue after a moment. "According to this, the HBS has different settings, one of them being a full offensive mode."

"What's that?" everyone else asked.

"It's when the HBS does nothing but attack you. It can touch you but you can't touch it, so you can't fight back. It helps with defensive tactics."

/_**That sounds like your setting,**_\\\ 'Bee replied with a teasing lilt in his voice. He fist-bumped a snickering Bulkhead.

Back turned towards them, Hunter rolled her eyes to the ceiling and growled softly. So they were gonna start now, huh? Real mature. But 'Bee had a point. Her defensive combat really did need a lot of work and if the HBS had a setting that would help her with that, why not use it? "All right then," Hunter sighed. She set the data pad down and pressed the button that would power the HBS up then pressed the button meant to set up the offensive mode before stepping back and transforming to her Cybertronian mode. They all waited.

After a moment a small cylindrical cone rose up out of the top of the disc. It sent out a red laser light beam and circled around the room scanning everything. When the beam finally fell on Hunter it stopped and remained there, widening out to a band of red light that completely illuminated her, and started scanning. A few seconds later there was a beep and the light went off, the scanner sinking back into the disc. Then the disc began to hum and vibrate. Without warning the disc started to transform. It wasn't long before there was an android standing before them. The android was about Hunter's height and was essentially featureless in terms of gender, though it was about as slimly built as Hunter was. It had no armor and was gold in color. There really wasn't a face to the thing, but the one thing it did have was a blue scanner that swayed back and forth in the position were the optics would have been located. All in all it appeared to be a pretty slick machine.

"Whoa!" everyone quietly marveled.

"It's so pretty!" Annabelle exclaimed with a delighted smile and clap of her hands.

"I can see myself," Miko stated, waving at the android to see her reflection waving back in its gold finish.

"Me too," Raf agreed, doing the same.

"But it looks so solid," Bulkhead remarked, raising an optic ridge. "I thought you set it on offensive mode, Hunter."

"I did," Hunter replied, walking towards the android. "At least… I think so." She held a hand out to touch the android, only to find that her fingers past right through the thing as if it were just a hologram. "Okay, that is really cool!" she laughed.

"Offensive mode sequence set," a voice that was a robotic form of Hunter's came from the android. "Let battle commence." Almost without any warning at all the droid clenched a fist, drew back and threw its arm forward, striking at Hunter with a right jab across the jaw.

Completely caught off guard, Hunter spun around twice with the force of the blow before face-planting into the floor. She groaned the world around her reeling.

"Hunter!" both Bulkhead and Bumblebee exclaimed, rushing to her side. The gently rolled her onto her backplate and helped her sit up.

/_**You okay?**_\\\ 'Bee asked.

The world still spinning, Hunter closed her sapphire optics and shook her head. She rubbed at her jaw. "That hurts a lot more than I thought," she declared. Grabbing the mech's shoulders for support, the scarlet and black-and-silver striped femmling pulled herself back up to her feet. She wiped her mouth and glared at the HBS. "All right then," she sighed, getting into a ready position. "Let's do this. Give me everything you got!"

"Request acknowledged," the voice left the android again. It quickly pivoted around into a split-second roundhouse kick.

"Whhhoooaaahhh!" Hunter went flying across the room to crash into the wall upside-down.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee exchanged looks. "This is gonna be a _**looong**_ training session," Bulk stated.

/_**But from the looks of it, very enjoyable to watch,**_\\\ 'Bee added.

"Can't argue with that," Bulk conceded with a grin.

* * *

**Confession #4:**

** I have actually laughed so hard that milk came out of my nose before. It was a long time ago in lower elementary school and it happened because one of the boys said something funny. It was so embarrassing.**

**Confession #5: **

** I shamelessly admit that I love writing domestic, loving, Daddy Optimus as much as I love writing him as kick-aft, Decepticon crushing, Autobot commander Optimus! Who loves reading it?!**

**Confession #6: **

** I'm not a Miley Cyrus fan anymore, but I do like some of her songs, and most of her older songs, including the ones from when she was Hannah Montana. Good music is good music. Besides, some of those Hannah Montana songs have good messages to them. Screw anybody who thinks I'm immature because of that!**

**Confession #7:**

** Optimus' holoform I imagine to actually look like Tom Selleck.**

**Confession #8:**

** Wow. I have a lot of confessions for this chapter.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS!**


	4. Watched

***NOTE TO READERS: IF YOU DON'T READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF MY CHAPTERS, PLEASE START DOING THAT. I HAVE THESE HERE FOR A REASON.***

**Another update because I was really in a TFP mood. (*sighs* That's what happens when I watch Transformers Robots in Disguise when I take a break from working on my Lord of the Rings fanfiction.) As promised there is action in this chapter. There will be even more action in the next chapter and the chapter after that it looking to have some action as well. Actually, this chapter and the next chapter—which will probably be up in a few days—were all going to be one thing, but having them together made this chapter way too long. I'm going to try to work harder at keeping the chapters somewhat the same length with this story, somewhere between 10 to 20 pages and not much less or more. This is probably a pipe dream and won't become a reality, but I'll work at it.**

**This very beginning part here is actually a "deleted scene" from Hybrid Theory. It didn't make it into the final cut of the story and it was just sitting here in my files on the laptop "collecting dust". I was originally going to put it into "Transformers Prime: The Hybrid Theory: Bloopers and Outtakes" that I occasionally tinker with from time to time, but then my dear spark-sister WolfAssassin369 made a fair point about Hunter having to deal with some flash-back to Bombardier. The more I thought about it the more I realized she was right. After all, Bomber was a HUGE part of the first story and put Hunter through Hell, so it made sense that she would still have a little… for lack of a better term—PTSD about him. Plus, I feel like we (ourselves and Hunter) never really got that much closure after Bomber died, so I think this is nice to have. Anyway, we get to see more of Greasy's character and get a little deeper into it. I love Greasy. :) And, hey, there's Optimus and Hunter comfort fluff in here! Who doesn't love that stuff? **

**In short, if you like it, all credit goes to Wolfie for inspiring me. If you don't like it, blame me because I didn't have to listen to her, since it is my story after all. But I think/hope you guys will enjoy it.**

**I would also like to thank those of you who submitted questions. Please keep them coming! I want you guys to make me think about the Hybrid race. Hard!**

**WolfAssassin369—I know right? I love Annabelle, which is saying a lot since I normally don't like little kids. **

**AllSpark Princess—I just hope you're not the only one who does. I hope other people like him that way, too. **

**Skyress98—Thank you. X3**

**SunnySides—I think I would be afraid for Optimus to find out. Yes, a cursing—well, English cursing—Optimus is a dead serious one. I figured if Prime were to ever curse in English it would be only when he was absolutely serious about something and at no other time. I should probably start following his example… but I don't see that happening any time soon. '-_- And I looked up the guys. XDD That was great!**

**Alice Gone Madd—Some shit happens here. Not the main shit, but still some.**

**Shadescribe—We'll start picking up here and then more action is promised in the next chapter. I like to think of my stories as EKGs. They have high and low points.**

**On we go!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Future World Music;_ Stalker_

4

Ω Vigilo Ω

(Watched)

It was midday and the sun was high above the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson was stationed above Challenger Deep, a section of the great Mariana Trench, the deepest point recorded on Earth. At 36,070 feet deep the Challenger Deep was to be the final resting place for the infamous and now deceased Hybrid bounty hunter, Bombardier Mancini.

A little less than a year had passed since Hunter had killed the bounty hunter. The funeral probably would have—and probably should have—been held much earlier than that. But getting permission from several human governments, as well as the Hybrid council, to dump the body of a giant, half machine, half organic alien had been by no means an easy feat. During that time Bombardier's body had been sitting in a warehouse at Area 51, being carefully guarded 'round the clock by Hybrid guards and collecting dust. And now today was the day. Today was the day Bombardier was finally to be laid to rest at the very bottom of the sea.

In Cybertronian form, Hunter stood out on the tarmac of the carrier, hugging herself and watching on seemingly emotionless at the proceedings of her first Hybrid funeral service. In all honesty she a bubbling cauldron of emotions inside. She had hated the mech with a passion, and still did, even though he had passed. How could she not? He'd only hunted her down like an animal, tortured her, killed her, and then had tortured and nearly killed her again with his sick mind games. Not only that, he'd almost killed her family! It was impossible for the femmling not to hate him, and, to be brutally honest, she couldn't have cared less if Bombardier received a respectful funeral or not. In fact she'd rather he hadn't. The more disrespectful, the better, in her opinion, but unfortunately that had not been the case. Evil and twisted or not, Bombardier had been Greasy's nephew (Hunter still had trouble believing they'd been related) and the old Hybrid still cared enough about his nephew to give him a proper Hybrid send off. Greasy was the only reason Hunter was even here. Even then she'd only agreed to come after they'd come to the compromise that Hunter could be allowed to say anything she pleased if she so wished to speak. And, boy, did she have some things to say! For Greasy's sake, she would try to keep it as tame and low-key as possible, but she made no promises.

Sighing deeply, Hunter turned her head and looked up at her spark-father, whom was standing right beside her, watching the service as well, and displaying just as little emotion. Thank Primus he was here. Hunter wasn't sure she'd be able to handle this event if he wasn't right there beside her.

Feeling eyes on him, Optimus looked down to see two beautiful sapphire blue optics gazing intently up at him. Turning his head, the Prime smiled reassuringly down at his spark-daughter. When she slightly smiled back, the large red and blue Autobot wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her to his side and planted a soft kiss on the crown of her helm. "It's all right. I am right here with you," he seemed to be saying.

Hunter closed her optics and smiled. Yes. Most definitely thank Primus for her father being here!

"Huntress?" Hunter looked up at the sound of her name to see Greasy standing there, looking up at her. "I've said my goodbyes," he informed her. "Do you have any final words you'd like to say?"

The femmling remained silent and unmoving for a moment, trying to process her thoughts and deciding if she really did want to say what she had planned. Finally she nodded and stepped forward, arms still wrapped around herself. Stopping before Bombardier's sparkless, gunmetal gray shell, Hunter stood before silently, simply gazing at it and thinking back to everything he'd done to her—all the hell he'd put her through. At last she spoke. "I've seen and lived through… a whole bunch of bad crap," she softly murmured, slightly shaking her head. "I mean, stuff so bad no kid should ever have to go through." Tears bit at her optics. "But you? You hurt and scarred me worse than anything or anyone else _**ever**_ has." The tears were starting to trickle down her cheekplates now, but the teenager was unaware of it, her voice unwavering. "You tortured me—mentally _**and**_ physically; you threatened my family; you almost killed my _**father**_!" Hunter had to pause for a moment in order to regain her composure, taking slow, deep vents to do it. "You put me through at least ten kinds of hell—hells that I have relieved countless times since then. I feared you. I hated you. I still hate you, Bombardier." The Hybrid snorted and looked skyward for a moment with a slight smile as she said, "There's not many people I can actually, truly say I hate. Not even Fowler." Her gaze fell back to the corpse and her smile dropped. "But _**you**_, Bomber?" she went on. "Oh, yeah. There is no doubt. I hate you so much I can't even begin to tell you just how much—there are not enough hateful words in this universe to describe my hatred of you! You can rot in Hell for all I care, Bomber. As far as I'm concerned, that's where you are anyway. Damn you. _** Fuck**_ you." A cynical smile curled Hunter's lipplates. "Oh, but don't worry, Bomber," she said in a mockingly sweet tone. "What was it you always said? 'Don't worry. It's just business.'" It took all of the sixteen-year-old's will power to not spit on the shell, but she somehow refrained from doing it. She knew hearing the words was hard enough for Greasy as it was. Spitting on his nephew would just be another slap in the face, and she just didn't have the spark to do that to the old Hybrid. Besides, she'd expressed her contempt well enough.

Turning away, the scarlet and black-and-silver striped femmling walked away and back to stand beside her father once again. Only then did her vents catch in her throat and her lipplate quiver as the tears started coming harder. That had taxed her more than she'd originally thought it would.

Sensing as well as seeing her distress, Optimus gave his daughter a sympathetic look and held out his arms to her. Once she was in them he held her quivering frame close and tight, softly whispering soothing words into her audio-receptor as she clutched onto him for dear life and silently cried into his chestplate. When Greasy asked him if he'd like to say anything, the Prime shook his head. "No," he declared. "I believe Hunter has spoken for the both of us." He then lowered his head and pressed a lingering kiss to Hunter's head, gently combing his fingers through her wires.

With that, the signal was given, and the crane that Bombardier was strapped to was powered on. It hoisted the mech's shell up and swung it out over the side of the ship before releasing. The corpse hit the water with a mighty splash.

Not pulling away from her spark-father's arms, Hunter craned her neck around to look over her shoulder and watch as the body of her most hated and feared enemy sank out of sight to the bottom of the ocean. An odd wave of relief and peace came over her. It was finally over. After all this time, all this waiting, her battle with Bombardier was finally, officially over. "He's gone, Dad," she murmured. "He's finally gone."

"He's gone, My Shooting Star," Optimus conceded with a nod as he too watched Bombardier's shell sink away. "He's gone."

Sensing that she was being watched, Hunter's gaze flickered away from the sea and up to one of the Hybrid guards. The Fuser raised an optic-ridge. What is just her, or was the femme looking at her in a creepishly weird way? To make things even more suspicious, once she saw that she was being watched, the femme quickly looked away. "_Nope, definitely not just me_," Hunter thought to herself, still looking at the older Hybrid hard. "_She was definitely eyeing me up. But why?_"

"Hunter?" Hunter turned back and looked up to see Optimus gazing down at her. "Let's go home, Sweet-spark," he said.

The femmling nodded in agreement. She was most definitely ready to go home and start putting this day behind her. As her father contacted Ratchet to open the ground-bridge, Hunter pulled out of his arms and headed in the direction Greasy was. The little old mech was standing at the edge of the carrier, gazing down into the water, unmoving and uncharacteristically silent. The younger Hybrid lowered herself to kneel beside him. When she saw that there were tears streaming down the old Hybrid's cheekplates her spark nearly broke in two. "Greasy?" she said softly, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. The mech slowly looked over at her. "I won't say I'm sorry for saying what I did, because I'm not. But I am sorry you had to hear it."

A small smile quivering onto his lipplates, Greasy, reached up and patted her hand. "Don't you worry about me, Youngling," he assured her. "Ol' Greasy's not so tender-hearted he can't stand to hear some harsh words now and again. Besides, you had every right to say what you said." His smile slipped away and he looked back down into the water. "And he deserved every last one of 'em."

Hunter nodded. "You wanna come back to base with Dad and me?" she questioned gently.

Greasy shook his head. "I'd like to be alone for a little while," he stated, not looking up. "I'll come over later."

Once again, Hunter nodded, respecting his decision. Then, without warning and almost acting strictly on impulse, the teenager reached out and hugged the old mech. It was something she rarely ever did with Greasy. As much as he claimed to enjoy witnessing affection, her Hybrid mentor wasn't much of a hugger, not even for her, and she only ever hugged him when he instituted the contact first. But at the moment, a break in tradition was required. For a moment Hunter was tense as she waited to see if Greasy would return her embrace, and once he had, she relaxed and smiled. "I know I don't say this a lot," she stated after a moment, "but I love you, Greasy. I really do."

"I love you too, Huntress," Greasy admitted, his voice breaking. "I love you too."

Hunter held her grandfather figure for a moment more before pulling away, smiling up at him, and rising to her full height so that she towered above him. "See you later then?" she questioned. Greasy nodded, and she walked away with one final wave. The femmling headed over to where Optimus was standing beside an open ground-bridge portal, waiting and watching on with a smile. When she met up with him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders again and the two disappeared into the swirling green vortex. It boomed out behind them.

Back at the Autobot base, the rest of the team was waiting for them. When they'd exited the bridge, they were all right there, waiting to lend support if it was needed. Hunter smiled. She was discovering more and more just how great family could really be. "Hey, guys."

"So, how was it?" Arcee asked.

"It was… difficult to say the least," Optimus answered, meeting Hunter's gaze before looking back up at the others. "But it was needed."

Bumblebee walked forward and held his sister-figure at arm's length, looking at her sympathetically and studying her face. /_**You okay?**_/ he beeped.

Hunter took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "A little shaky," she admitted, "but other than that, yeah." She was quiet for a moment and her smile widened a bit. "Better actually. I know it's weird to say because he's been dead for a year… but I really do feel more secure now."

"Closure," Ratchet deduced.

"Yeah," Hunter nodded. "I'm… almost glad I went actually. I mean, it wasn't that great to see Bomber again and seeing Greasy sad wasn't fun either, but I think in the long run it'll be a good thing. I got some final things off my chest and… yeah. Yeah, it was definitely time. I'm ready to finally move on now." The teen smirked and snorted as she added, "And I am so done with demented psychopaths and their twisted mind games."

"You said it, sister!" Bulkhead agreed heartily with a grin.

* * *

A few hours later and Hunter was curled up on the couch up on the living room area of the catwalk, pencil in hand and concentrating so hard her tongue was sticking out of her mouth. She picked the pencil up off the paper and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "_Two sentences down_," she thought to herself, "_and…_" sapphire blue eyes scanned the remaining stark whiteness of college-ruled notebook paper that had yet to be filled with writing, "_… well, two sentences down_." Before she could stop herself, the teen rolled her eyes and let her head fall forward to smack into her text book. "Ugh!" she groaned.

Greek class! Why the heck did she have to take Greek class? She already knew Cybertronian, Latin, and the language of the Primes besides English so why the pit did she have to add Greek to the list? Wasn't four languages enough?! And as if writing in Greek wasn't bad enough, why did she have to write an entire paper about herself? The girl didn't even think she'd be able to come up with enough information about herself to fill up an entire paper! What could she say? She already had her name, age, and hobbies down; stating the fact that she was the Fuser could take up the third sentence. Should she talk about how she'd grown up a foster kid and what her life was like in the system? How she'd ended up in Jasper, Nevada and discovered she was the Fuser as well as finding a family? Talking about coming to Jasper and finding her family would be good topics, but the redheaded Hybrid wasn't sure she wanted to talk about growing up in the foster system and how she'd discovered she was the Fuser. Foster care she wanted to forget. And as for discovering her title… well… that was a story that needed to be novelized to be told properly told and not scribbled down on a few lines of a one page paper. So now she was back to stage one: what was she going to write? And this was due tomorrow! Picking up her Greek book so that she could smush it to her face, Hunter released a muffled scream into the binding. "I should have gone on patrol with Dad," she muttered to herself.

"Having trouble, are we?" Ratchet asked as he came into the room, a tool in each hand.

"Please don't ask," Hunter replied, not lifting her face out of the book.

"As you wish," the medic responded without so much as a shrug. He was heading across to his lab and had other, more important things on his mind.

Suddenly looking up at the old Autobot, Hunter questioned, "Hey, Ratch. How much trouble do you think I'd get in if I just plugged myself into the 'net and downloaded the ancient Greek language straight into my processor?"

Ratchet, who had just been about ready to disappear into the lab, froze mid-stride. He rolled his optics to the ceiling and growled in exasperation. "By who exactly?" he questioned, turning around to face the girl and crossing his arms over his chassis. "The teacher at your school or your father?"

Hunter blinked for a moment, thinking it over before she finally made a grimace. "I guess it doesn't really matter." The white and amber medic and moved to turn around again when he was called back. "But why would I get in trouble? I mean, I plugged myself into the base's databanks in order to learn Cybertronian and Latin and Primese," (what she'd dubbed the language of the Primes), "and nobody pitched a fit then. So why would I get in trouble for this?"

Sighing heavily, Ratchet faced her again. "Because you weren't going to school then," he answered, "and you were too impatient to learn them the hard way. Besides, wouldn't it be considered cheating if you did that?"

Hunter smirked deviously back. "Only if I get caught," she pointed out.

Ratchet gave her a stern look. "Try explaining that to your father," he challenged.

"He wouldn't know—I wouldn't tell him."

"_**I**_ would tell him."

The teen groaned and held her hands up in surrender. "All right," she yielded. "All right, fine." She gave the mech an accusing look. "You're just a regular old snitch, ya know that? You make life harder for the rest of us."

Ratched smirked in a self-satisfied way. "That's my job, young one," he stated. With that he disappeared into his lab.

Hunter waited for a moment, watching the med-bay doors carefully, and then slowly reached out down into her bag to grab her school-issued laptop.

"Don't even think about it," Ratchet's voice warned from beyond the half-closed lab doors.

Hunter flinched away from the bag and cursed under her breath, hand clenching into a fist. "How the slag do you know what I'm doing when you can't even see me?!"

"Because I know you so well," came the simple reply.

The teen let her head fall back as she groaned. "Ugh! Fine!" Turning back to her homework, the redhead picked up her pencil again and did the only thing she could do—suffer through it. She was just starting the second paragraph (don't think it was any tremendous feat—her first paragraph was only three sentences) when the sound of motors coming down the hall that led into the base broke her concentration. Hunter looked up to see Team Prime and their human companions. "Hey, guys," she greeted Jack, Miko, and Raf once they had exited the vehicles.

"Hey, Hunter," the all said back, making their way to the catwalk steps.

"How was school today?"

"A total drag," Miko complained.

"No cheerleaders exploding milk out their nostrils again?" Hunter questioned with a smirk. She, Miko, and Raf all snickered.

"It's already got a million hits on YouTube," Raf pointed out, flopping down on the couch. "I may or may not be one of them," he added with a sheepish grin.

"I _**am**_ one of them," Miko shamelessly admitted.

"Aw, come on, guys," Jack said, sitting down beside Hunter. "Can't you cut Sierra a break? I mean, I think she's embarrassed enough about it as it is."

"Oh, come on, Jack!" Miko exclaimed, throwing herself into one of the arm chairs as she dropped her backpack on the floor. "You can't sit there and honestly tell us you don't find it even a little bit funny."

"No, I don't," Jack stated with all seriousness. After a moment he shifted his gaze down to the floor and added with a small smile, "Okay, ma-maybe just a little."

Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee, who had all transformed and were watching and listening on, suddenly turned to one another and exchanged confused looks. "I don't think I'll ever completely understand what earthlings talk about," Arcee commented. The mechs voiced their agreement.

All at once the base's computer beeped, drawing the attention of everyone. Ratchet came out of the lab and hurried over to it, pressing buttons and pulling up files to see what the commotion was all about. He swore his spark skipped a beat when he saw what it was. "An energon deposit!" he exclaimed.

/_**Looks like a pretty big one too**_,\\\ 'Bee stated.

"A deposit that big, we could restock our energon pile, no problem!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"And then some," Hunter stated.

"Assuming we get to it before the 'cons do anyway," Arcee pointed out realistically. "Who's to say they aren't already there?"

"Whether they're there or not, it's a risk we have to take," Ratchet stated, turning to face them. "Our energon supply is very low and growing lower almost every day. It won't be long before it's depleted completely. If we have any hope of restoring it to at least half of what we had originally we have to mine this deposit."

"But Optimus is out on patrol," Arcee, ever the pessimist, stated, "and we don't have enough time to wait for him to get back to base. Without him and his trailer how are we gonna get the energon home? I mean I can carry some, Bulk and 'Bee can haul some more in their alt. modes, but it's still not enough space to take a big load. And the bigger the load we haul off the first time the better, because we might not have a chance to go back for a second load."

"I can go along," Hunter suggested with a shrug. "I'm a truck. Bring along some straps and we can pile my box high with the stuff."

Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead all nodded with a shrug. That wasn't that bad of an idea—between the four them they'd be able to get quite a haul. Ratchet was the only one who seemed against it. Shaking his head, the white and amber medic waved his hands in the air. "Yup-bup-bup!" he dismissed the idea. "No—out of the question. You have a Greek paper due tomorrow as well as other homework to do I'm sure. Your father instructed me not to let you do anything until you've completed it, and that's what I intend to do."

"Yeah, well, I don't think Dad was counting on a humungous energon deposit showing up on our radar while he was out on patrol either," Hunter pointed out bluntly as she leaned up against the railing.

"I don't think your father would like it," Ratchet stated firmly.

"Considering how important this is, I don't think he'd be that upset about it," Hunter countered.

"You're not going, Hunter." Ratchet stood firm, not allowing himself to be pulled into her trap of circular logic.

"Oh, come on, Ratchet, please?" the redhead started to beg. "I am absolutely bored out of my mind here with this junk—I can't concentrate. I spend half the time just staring at my history book thinking up new moves to kick Decepticon aft with. And that was before we found the deposit. How the heck do you expect me to focus on my school work now while everyone else is out in the field mining energon?"

Ratchet rolled his optics and sighed, "Hunter…"

"Please, Ratchet?" Hunter begged, folding her hands together and sinking to her knees on the catwalk. "Please, please, please?" She gave him her best puppy-eyes.

Ratchet stared at her, biting the inside of his lipplate, trying to be strong and stand his grown. He would not succumb to those eyes—those beautiful eyes of the deepest sapphire blue that gazed right into your spark: those eyes you couldn't help but admire and fall in love with, no matter how hard you tried. He would not cave. He would not cave. He would not cave! "All right!" he finally relented. "Fine. You may go, but please be careful. And don't come whining to me when you don't get your homework done on time."

"Yes!" Hunter whooped, jumping to her feet and punching a fist in the air.

"Hey!" Miko broke into the conversation, putting on her best winning grin. "So, does that mean, we can go, too?"

The Cybertronians all looked at her. "No," they answered in unison.

* * *

Chile;

Sapphire eyes on the overcast sky, Hunter scanned for Decepticons, utilizing her telescopic vision in order to see farther that she was normally able. Finally she deemed the skies 'con free. Ducking back into the tree top leaves of the large tree she'd scaled, the Hybrid jumped back down to the ground, transforming to her to her robotic form as she did. She stood and brushed her palms together.

"Anything?" Bulkhead questioned.

The femmling shook her helm. "Nothing as far as I can see," she reported, perching a hand on a cocked hip. "Of course neither telescopic nor microscopic vision can make it possible to see through clouds. The 'cons could come in above this cloudbank and I'd never see them. I can jet up and look around if you want."

Arcee shook her head. "No, don't worry about it," he assured her. "If the 'cons knew about this mine, I'd bet they'd be here already. We'll go ahead and start harvesting. Just be sure to an audio-receptor out for 'em, Hunter; you'll hear 'em coming before any of the rest of us do."

Hunter nodded.

Arcee turned towards the mechs. "You two got the energon detectors?" she questioned. Bulkhead and Bumblebee nodded, holding up two of the instruments. "All right then," the blue femme said with a nod. "Let's go get that energon." All the Autobots transformed to their alternate modes—save Hunter, who reverted back to her human form and jumped inside 'Bee's cab—and sped off up the slope towards the mine entrance that led deep into the hill side.

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

Miko sat sulking in the arm chair, hardly even watching as Jack and Raf battled it out on the videogame they had plugged in. The teen let her head fall back as she groaned. "Ugh! I'm bored!" she screeched.

"We know, Miko," Jack replied, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.

"You've only been saying that every five minutes for the last half-hour," Raf added, he, too, not diverting his attention from the game.

"Well, I am!" Miko snipped, sitting up with a glare. "I mean how can I not be? The 'bots could be out there having a serious throw down with the 'cons right now, and I'm sitting here with you two missing it!"

Sighing in exasperation, Jack paused the videogame and turned to address the Japanese girl directly. "Miko, us being out in the field just complicates whatever job the 'bots are doing," he stated.

"But we're their human allies—their guides!" Miko reasoned. "It's our job to help 'em."

"When it comes to human related issues," Raf clarified. "Harvesting energon isn't a human related issue as far as I know."

"The 'bots are better off if we're safe here at base, Miko," Jack declared, "and so are we. Besides we're just teenagers, so honestly, what can we really be expected to do that would help?"

"Hunter's not any older than us, and she goes out with them," the pink-striped haired girl still kept trying.

"Comparing us to Hunter is like comparing a Tyrannosaurs Rex to an iguana," Raf commented. "She's an Earth-born, Cybertronian, uber-Hybrid with innate capability of combat tactics who is being trained by Optimus and the team. There is no comparison."

"Which is exactly why I'm upset that we're not out there!" Miko exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "Hunter could be kicking serious tailpipe and I'm not there to see it!"

"Uh, Miko, they're going on a mission to harvest energon," Raf pointed out. "With luck, they won't be slagging anything."

"Psh! Details, details! Don't be so pessimistic, Raf."

Raf looked down at the floor, slightly bristling at her words. "I'm not a pessimist," he muttered.

"Besides you've already seen Hunter fight, Miko," Jack reminded with a glare. "More than once!"

Miko glowered back at him, hands on her hips. "For once I'd like to watch her fight _**without**_ my life actually being on the line, thank you very much!"

"It's a bad idea, Miko," Jack growled, trying to keep his cool. He loved Miko to death—she was almost like a sister to him, anymore—but she could be the single most annoying person on the planet when she wanted to be. Right now, she definitely wanted to be!

"Says you!" Miko spat, sticking out her tongue. "Screw you guys. I'm going." With that, the sixteen-year-old jumped up from her seat and darted across to the ground-bridge console. Because the coordinates were still programmed into the computer, it was just a simple matter of pressing enter on the interfaced keyboard to power up the bridge again. Then, with one last quick look towards the lab where Ratchet was, Miko streaked down the steps—taking two at a time—and sprinted across towards the bridge.

"Miko!" Jack and Raf both bellowed, jumping up and running after her. But they were too late. Miko had already disappeared into the vortex. Rolling his eyes and growling, Jack started to run for the ground-bridge too. "Come on!" he told Raf. "We can't let her go out there alone!"

"Right!" Raf agreed, sprinting after him.

The boys dove into the ground-bridge and disappeared just before it cut out.

* * *

Chile;

"Meter's starting to go wild 'Bee," Hunter remarked as she kept an eye on the energon detector sitting in the muscle car's passenger seat. The mine they were driving through had originally been drilled by humans and as such as much too small for even Arcee to walk through in bipedal mode. Hunter just hoped the energon cavern itself was bigger than this. "Must be getting' close."

/_**I hope so,**_\\\ the yellow and black Autobot scout beeped back. /_**The sooner we get that energon harvested the better. I really don't wanna be here in case the 'cons show up—I just got the last of the dents from our last Decepticon and counter pounded out. I don't want anymore.**_\\\

His redheaded, sapphire blue-eyed passenger couldn't help but snicker. "Mine were all cleared up within an hour or two after that," she stated, intentionally trying to tease her brother figure. What was the good of being a little sister if you didn't get to rub you siblings the wrong way every once in a while.

Bumblebee was aware of what she was trying to do, but he took the bait anyway. However, he took it with a smirk and light-sparkedness. /_**Well, not all of us have accelerated healing abilities like some 'bots,\\\ **_he shot back.

Hunter smirked and winked impishly. "Don't you wish you did? You have no idea how great it is to not have to worry about facing Ratchet after every battle."

/_**Oh, sure rub it in, why don't'cha?**_\\\

"I thought I just did."

/_**You can be excruciatingly annoying sometimes, ya know that?**_\\\

"You still love me though."

/_**And I continuously ask myself why every day.**_\\\

Hunter laughed. All of a sudden the detector started beeping and flashing off the charts, drawing attention from both Cybertronians. "Looks like we found the energon," the sixteen-year-old reasoned, watching the detector.

Bumblebee came to a stop. /_**Yeah,**_\\\ he responded, voice full of hushed awe, /_**I'd say we did. Check it out!**_\\\

Hunter looked you and out the windshield, her eyes doubling in size and jaw dropping open. Slowly she reached over and opened up Bumblebee's door before stepping out and gazing on in amazement. "Whoa…."

The passage they had been traveling ended only a few feet ahead before dropping off and opening up into a large, long cavern. That cavern was chocked full of energon; so full that it was all illuminated with the light that the blue, crystalline spires gave off. There was energon everywhere! It was jutting down out the ceiling and jutting up out of the floor like stalactites and stalacmites. The walls of the cavern were marked with brilliant blue veins of the substance that ran this way and that. It was stunning!

"I've never seen this much energon before," Hunter murmured, entranced by the view before her. "It's just… I mean… wow!"

Still gazing in wonderment at the cavern before them, Bumblebee opened up his comm-link and contacted their teammates. /_**Arcee, Bulkhead, I think we found what we were looking for.**_\\\

* * *

Cutting it close, Jack and Raf jumped out of the hard-light portal and onto the ground just as the ground-bridge closed. Once they had recovered they were both up and looking around to see if they could spot Miko. "There she is!" Raf shouted, pointing up the slope where Miko was clambering towards the cave entrance.

"Miko!" Jack howled. When she didn't stop, he grabbed Raf by the arm and started dragging him along. "Come on!" The boys started climbing as fast as they could up the slope after their hyper-active friend. "Miko!"

* * *

"Holy Primus!" Bulkhead exclaimed as he stared at the sight around him. All of the 'bots were now standing in the cavern of energon, still drinking their surroundings in. It had been a long time since any of them had seen that much energon in one place before and, for Hunter, it was the first time she had ever seen that much energon, period.

"Yeah," Arcee stated, hands on her hips. "I would definitely say we found the energon deposit." Sighing she strode forward with purpose into the cavern. "Come on," she said. "Enough gawking. Let's get as much as we can loaded up and outta here before the 'cons get here."

Shaking off their dazes, the others followed after her.

* * *

Miko had just made it to the entrance of the mine and the boys were right behind her. "Miko!" Jack hollered, reaching out and snagging her ankle before she could go any further. "Slow down!"

Jerking out of his grip, Miko spun around and glowered at the two boys. "Do you always have to be such a spoilsport, Jack?" she demanded, fists on her hips.

Panting and heaving, Jack pulled Raf—who was panting and heaving just as hard—up the last few feet into the cave mouth. Then he stood up and faced Miko. "What you call "being a spoilsport" I call "watching your back"," he stated, stabbing a finger in her chest and glaring back.

"I'm fine," Miko snapped. "I don't need you to watch my back."

"Do you even have any idea where they are in there?" Jack demanded. "Or how you were going to find them if you didn't? Otherwise you could get lost in a maze of tunnels and never find your way out!"

"I… w-well… I… Oh! I would've figured something out!"

"When? After you died of dehydration?"

"Ugh! Enough!" Raf howled, sick of their arguing. "You two yelling at each other isn't gonna help anything so just stop!"

Miko and Jack shut up though they continued to glare at each other.

"Look," Raf sighed, being the mediator, "we're all here, so we might as well all just go find the Autobots. I'd rather go back home with them than call Ratchet up and have him bridge us back right now."

"But how are we supposed to find the 'bots?" Jack asked. "There could be a million different tunnels in there—we can't search them all."

"I can track their energy signatures on my phone," Raf stated, pulling out his iPhone.

"Raf, I swear with all the little gadget and gizmos you can put together and things you can do on your laptop and phone, it's like you're Batman!" Miko laughed with a grin.

Raf grinned back proudly and then pulled up the signature tracking app that he and Ratchet and worked together on. After four little blue blips appeared on the screen, he ventured into the cave. Miko and Jack followed after him.

* * *

"Ugh!" Bulkhead groaned as he tediously welded his way through a spire of energon. "Why can't we have good energon cutters like the 'cons do?"

Arcee came walking by with a chunk of energon to add it to the stockpile they were building up. "We did," she commented, "until Ratchet had to fix all of them because you broke 'em. Several times."

Bulkhead growled, faceplate heating up with embarrassment.

/_**Bulkhead's got a point though,**_\\\ Bumblebee stated as he cut through another spire. /_**The heat of these cutters is so weak and these spires are so thick it takes forever to get through them. We won't even have half of what we can carry home at this rate.**_\\\

"Even I'm having trouble here," Hunter stated. She finished slicing through a spire, picked up the chunk and carried it over to the pile. Most of what was in the pile already had been what she'd cut off and even then it wasn't much. The teen set the chunk down and then sat down on one that had cooled off to take a little breather. "These spires are so thick I have to put a lot of heat into my fire to get through them and then I get so hot I have to cool off after only a few slices. What I wouldn't give to have an internal cooling system like you guys!" The femmling wiped off some of the condensation that had collected on her forehead as she panted like a dog in an effort to cool down. Sometimes being a pyrokenetic wasn't so hot (no pun intended).

"It'd be nice if we didn't have to cut through 'em and could just rip up the entire spire out of the ground," Arcee commented as she started to cut away at another spire.

"You said it," Bulk and 'Bee agreed at the same time.

"I know right?" Hunter replied when they did. That's when the Hybrid perked up, an idea coming to life in her processor. "Wait a minute!" she exclaimed, standing up. "Who says we can't?"

The others all stopped their welding and looked in her direction with quizzical stares.

Looking around, Hunter spotted a relatively small crystal and went over to it. She came to a stop in front of the little spire and stood there a moment examining it, thinking of how to do this. She'd never tried manipulating solid energon before. But there was a first time for everything right? The sixteen-year-old took a deep breath closed her optics, drawing all of her focus together, then she held a hand out over the spire. Nothing happened.

"Uh… Red?" Bulkhead asked, looking incredibly confused. "What are you…"

"Shh," Arcee shushed him, coming closer. "Let her focus."

Crooking her fingers a bit over the spire, Hunter's face twisted into an expression of serious concentration, optic-ridges knitting together. She reached out to the energon with her power, just as Greasy had instructed her. Still nothing happened. "_Come on_," Hunter thought to herself. "_Come on. Move, crack, do something!_" The teen concentrated even harder. For a longer time still there was nothing and then suddenly there was a small crack. The Hybrid just dared to crack open an optic and saw that there was indeed a tiny fissure in the spire where it rose up out of the floor. She gasped quietly, excitement curling around in her stomach. "_Okay, Hunter, okay_," she told herself. "_Good progress, but don't lose focus now. Keep working at it—you haven't got it yet._" Closing her optic again, the femmling focused even harder and harder still. She was rewarded with the sound of more cracking and splitting when suddenly the shard broke free from its root completely and floated up into the air towards her outstretched hand. Opening her optics a self-pleased grin a mile wide creased Hunter's faceplate.

The other clapped and cheered, spouting off congratulations, "Way to go, Hunt!", "Nice.", "I knew you could do it!".

Still smiling, Hunter held up her other hand and levitated the spire between them, swaying her hands back and forth and watching as it moved in response. Then another idea came to her. "I wonder…" she murmured. Staring at the spire, the femmling started to concentrate again, reaching out to the energon with her power even more than she had already. Once again nothing happened. But then, after a moment or two the energon liquefied and Hunter was manipulating a puddle of liquid energon between her palms. "I did it!" she laughed, beaming even brighter than she had before. She turned to face the others. "Hey, guys! Check it out!" Holding one hand out so it was beneath the energon, Hunter began to pass the other around it. After a moment she flexed her hands and the shapeless, liquid blob turned into a cube of solid energon. The femmling liquefied the energon again and a moment later it was back in solid form in the shape of a 3D star. Again she liquefied it. Concentrating a bit harder this time, the teen hardened the energon again and this time it was in the shape of the Autobot insignia.

The others laughed and clapped as she brought the energon back to its original spire form. "Not bad, Kid," Arcee praised her with a small smile.

"Too bad we didn't bring any boxes along," Bulkhead commented. "Red could just liquefy the energon and put it in them and we'd be done."

/_**How were you sure you could even do that?**_\\\ Bumblebee asked.

"Well, Greasy mentioned once that my power is limited to just manipulating liquid energon. He also said that once I got the hang of it, I could make energon go back and forth between the two forms. But I didn't think I'd be able to do both this quickly."

/_**I think maybe we should just stopped being amazed when it comes to things you can do**_,\\\ 'Bee commented arms crossed over his chassis. /_**You're definitely more than meets the eye, Hunt.**_\\\

The femmling smiled and looked down sheepishly as she blushed.

"Well, hopefully by the time we're done harvesting you'll be a pro at this," Arcee stated. "Come on, everyone. Back to work."

They all went back to what they were doing, Bulkhead and Bumblebee picking up where they had left off in their cutting. Hunter's job may have been made easier, but they still had to harvest energon the long way. Hopefully she'd make up for it.

Heading over to a bigger spire, Hunter braced her feet shoulder width apart and planted herself there firmly. She stretched both her arms out towards the spire. Fixing the thing with a stern stare, the teen thought, "_You will obey me_." Crouching down only slightly, she started to reach out with her power. That's when she felt it again for a second time that day. The sensation of being watched. Concentration broken, Hunter straightened up and looked this way and that looking for something, but there was nothing there. Anywhere. Then why did it feel so much like there was someone, right there just out of sight, watching her with the intensity of an entomologist studying a new species of insect?

Noticing that the femmling was distracted, Arcee stopped cutting for a moment turned towards her. "Hunter, you okay?" she asked, voice concerned.

"Yeah," Hunter replied, not looking at her. "It's just…" she never got to finish because right at that moment there was a huge explosion that knocked them all to the ground, burying them all in rubble.

* * *

"Down this way," Raf said, turning to his left down a passage.

Miko and Jack followed after him staying close to each other and close to Raf as he led them on. It was so dark they could hardly see each other even though they were only inches away from one another. "Geez, this thing goes on forever!" Miko exclaimed. It felt like they had been walking for miles and miles!

"Aren't you glad we stopped you from running in here all on your own now?" Jack asked, a smirk in his voice.

Miko scowled and stuck out her tongue at the boy, though he couldn't see it. "Shut up."

All of a sudden there was the sound of a loud boom and the cave shook. The kids all rushed towards the side of the passage to huddle against the wall, arms up over their heads to protect them. When the dust settled the slowly came out of their protective stances.

Coughing, Miko fanned her arm in front of her face to try and clear the dust away. "What the heck was that?"

Coughing up mine dust as well, Jack answered, "Sounded like an explosion."

"I think the 'cons are here," Raf gulped, sounding fearful as he looked down at his phone to see several red blips appear on the screen.

"Ah-ha!" Miko whooped, pointing at Jack. "I told you they'd show up!"

"That's not a good thing, Miko!" Jack yelled. "That's not a good thing _**at all**_!"

The punk girl waved her hand in a dismissive manner and snorted. "Psh! That's what _**you**_ say." Without warning she turned and sprinted off down the passage.

"Miko? Miko!" Jack groaned and rolled his eyes. Not again! "Come on, Raf! We gotta catch up to her before she gets lost again!"

* * *

Shoving the boulders off of herself, Hunter slowly sat up and started to massage her aching helm, sucking in a sharp vent through her denta. "Ooh…." The teen was greatly relieved when the pain faded away. She looked around her see her teammates starting to extract themselves from their own mounds of rubble and start to massage aching parts of their chassis. "Everyone okay?" she grunted.

The others didn't even get a chance to answer as all of their attention was diverted upwards when a large shadow was cast over them. "It's the Nemesis," Bulkhead stated.

A deep feral growl rumbled up from Hunter's chest as she bared her denta. "Starscream," she growled acidly.

Right on cue a whole armada of Eradicons flew off the top of the ship and dove straight down into the cavern, transforming in mid-air and landing as they usually did. Then the immediately powered up their cannons, taking aim at the Autobots. "Stay down!" they barked, as they surrounded the team. The 'bots did as they were told.

All at once a large, round tube extended down from the bottom of the Nemesis until it touched the floor of the cavern, and a second later the self-appointed Decepticon leader himself was lowered down on a lift that was inside of it, accompanied by an entourage of Vehicons. Once he'd reached the bottom, 'Scream stepped off the lift and into the cavern. He sneered. "Hello, Autobots," he greeted them all with an evil chortle. The Seeker took notice of the pile of already excavated energon and strode over to it fearlessly. At the moment he had nothing to worry about. Outgunned, surrounded, and from the looks of it without their leader, the Autobots wouldn't risk confrontation, not while they were being looked at down the barrels of several dozen cannons as they were being right now. The high-heeled mech picked up small shard of energon and turned it over and over in his hands. This was rich energon; he could already feel the vitality of it. He turned to the 'bots with a grin. "Thank you for beginning the harvest for us, Autobots," he mocked, coming back towards them. Starscream stalked towards Hunter and stood over her, gazing down at her with a dark gleam in his blood-red optics. His gaze ran over the femmling's shapely frame as he admired it wantonly. She only seemed to grow more beautiful each time he laid eyes on her! At last he met her optics. With a sickeningly sweet smile he crouched down in front of her and reached out to stroke her cheekplate lovingly. "My dear Huntress," the mech purred huskily.

Face twisting in disgust, Hunter shied away from him, hate and loathing as evident in her glaring optics as desire and lust were in Starscream's. Without warning she snagged his fingers between her denta and chomped down hard, causing the mech to yelp and howl with pain. That caused the rest of the 'cons and 'bots to snicker. She could have very nearly bitten his digits right off except he managed to forcefully jerk his hand from her jaws. The teen spit his revolting taste from her mouth. "I'm not your dear anything, pervert!" Hunter snarled. "Take it and shove it!" As if to prove her point, she lifted a leg, braced her foot against chestplate and gave him a forceful shove.

Starscream vaulted backwards and hit the cavern floor with a mighty crash. Quickly getting back to his feet, the mech brushed himself off, blushing hotly in both anger and embarrassment. He snarled. "I was considering letting you keep some of the energon you've already mined," he hissed (it was a lie, of course), "but just for that, not only will I take all of your energon, but I'll take all of you as my prisoners as well."

"I'd like to see you try," Arcee growled.

"You don't think I can?" Starscream challenged.

"Oh, no it's not that," Bulkhead replied. "It's just that we know that you can't."

/_**And we're positive that you won't**_,\\\ 'Bee added.

Even redder in the faceplate now, Starscream almost seemed to tremble with the very rage coursing inside his being. Pathetic, vermin Autobots! How dare they challenge him—He, the Great Starscream Emperor of Destruction! He'd show them! He point rigidly at them all with a long, sharp foredigit. "Take them!" he ordered, voice higher pitched and squeaking with his anger. "Take them!"

The Eradicons and Vehicons moved in.

The Autobots sprang to action. Extracting their various weapons, they all lunged to their feet in the blink of an optic. Between the crushing, shooting, slashing, slicing, and dicing that soon followed after the fact it wasn't long before an all-out battle for the energon was commenced.

"Hrah!" Hunter slammed her fist into the chest of an oncoming Decepticon with such force that she actually broke through the plating, wrapped her hand around the mech's spark, violently ripped the pulsating crystal from his spark-chamber, and crushed it in her fist, most effectively assuring the 'con would go offline. Then she ducked down to the ground and kicked a leg high up into the air behind her. "Hah!" Her foot made contact with the chin of another Vehicon and his helm went flying completely off across the cavern somewhere. Quickly getting up and pivoting around, Hunter extracted her right set of razors and planted them straight through the optics of a charging Eradicon. "Rrah!" Claws still skewering his helm, the Hybrid grabbed his shoulderplate, shoved off the floor, used the chassis of the 'con to swing around and kicked another Decepticon upside the head with such force she snapped the cables and circuits in his neck. "Hyah!" Hunter yanked her claws out of the Decepticons helm and let him finally fall sparkless to the floor before shedding his energon off her blades. She then took time to look around and see what else was happening. Bulkhead was crushing 'cons with his wrecking ball; 'Bee was taking them out with his cannons and exchanging blows; Arcee was working her way through a pack of the creeps with her cannons and arm blades. So far it looked like the odds were in their favor.

All at once Hunter's nerves tingled and she quickly spun around just in time to have a large foot planted in her jaw and to be knocked backwards with the blow. "Oof!" She hit the floor. Sitting up again, the teen shook her head and raised a hand to her jaw, moving it around to see if it was all right. Then she looked up towards the 'con who'd knocked her down. She growled behind her battle mask. "All right then, Decepti-creep," she rumbled. "Let's dance. Rah!"

Starscream watched on disbelief. They were getting thrashed. His armada outnumbered the Autobots ten to one and his armada was the one getting thrashed! How did that always happen?! Snarling, Starscream turned to the Vehicon that had stayed by his side and violently held a hand out as he ordered in his squeaky voiced rage, "Give me the weapon! Now!"

A bit startled by his master's urgency, the 'con quickly reached into an inner compartment, fumbled around, and brought out a large, armored glove that possessed what looked like a keypad and dial on the side. He handed it over to Starscream, but he almost dropped it.

Starscream quickly snatched it up before it fell to the ground and glared at the mech with a savage growl. He backhanded him across the faceplate. "Imbecile," he snarled. Turning away he slowly slipped the glove on over his hand, maneuvering his long digits into the constrictive space. It was a bit snug, almost too small, but it was still functional. Pushing the red button on the keypad, the Emperor of Destruction stretched out his hand, aimed it in the direction of the Autobots, and turned the dial.

Above the sounds of battle, Hunter's sensitive audio-receptors picked up the sound of clicking and then a very fain whir, but she didn't give much thought to it until she heard the unmistakable, alarmed cries of her teammates. Slicing the head off the mech she was fighting, the teen whipped around and then froze in horror. Her team wasn't fighting anymore, but instead were all suspended in mid-air, unmoving but looking terrified about their current situation. Hunter cocked an optic-ridge. What in the name of Primus? Suddenly hearing an evil chuckle, the femmling's eyes moved from the team over towards Starscream who was holding out a hand towards her team. Hunter quickly put two and two together. Whatever was happening with Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee had to do with him! "What are you doing to them, Starscream?" she demanded, fists clenching even more tightly.

Smirking dementedly up at the Autobots, Starscream chuckled with a shake of his head. "Hybrid technology is truly fascinating," he commented, looking over at the sixteen-year-old. He then turned his gaze to the glove that was on his hand and looked at the piece of tech with admiration, even stroking it a bit. "To think," he murmured, "I never would have discovered just how useful it can be had Bombardier not left some of it behind on my ship." His gaze went to Hunter again. "I suppose I have you to thank for that, my dear," he stated. "Had you not killed that accursed bounty hunter I never would have had the chance to inherit this arsenal."

"_Oh, Bombardier, fantastic_," Hunter snarled inside her head. "_Even when he's dead and buried I'm still battling him!_" The young Hybrid pulled herself up to full height and stepped forward, trying to slip into her persuasive, reasonable façade to try and talk the Decepticon down. It wasn't at all easy. If there was one thing Hunter wasn't good at being, it was being persuasive and reasonable. She could manage it with friends and family (she wasn't ever very successful) but her temper was way too unstable and would flair up with mostly anyone else (that red hair was no lie). Especially when the "anyone else" was an enemy, and then especially when that enemy was Starscream. The creep just had a way badly grating her nerves! But for the time being, Hunter would try to cool off and try to make him see reason. Who knows? With as in love with her as the Seeker so obviously was, she could very well get through to him. "Starscream," she said, trying to keep her voice calm and even, "listen to me. Hybrid technology can be extremely dangerous, especially when you don't fully understand what it can do. You could hurt others and yourself as well."

"Oh, I know fully well what this gauntlet is capable of, my sweet," the mech assured him. "I have tested it and the other contraptions many times to discover their capabilities. Believe me when I say that I know what I am doing."

"You don't know that for sure," Hunter stated, still trying to work some magic. Why couldn't she have picked up on her father's special gift with words better than she had already? "Shut the gauntlet off and put it down."

A suggestive, sick smirk curled the mech's lips as a dangerous gleam came to his optics. "Beg," he said.

Hunter was taken aback, almost believing she'd heard him wrong. She recoiled a bit in revulsion, face twisting in sheer and utter disgust. "Excuse me?" she gasped incredulously.

"Beg," Starscream repeated, louder this time. "Beg for me to put the gauntlet down and I will. Beg for me as I have imagined you doing so many times before."

Hunter's tank churned and threatened to spew her lunch right there on the cavern floor. There was only one way Starscream could ever have imagined her begging for him and she would have appreciated not picturing those mental images. "_I'm not sleeping anytime soon_," the teen thought to herself. "You got a fraggin' prayer," she snarled, glare darkening.

Starscream shrugged. "All right then," he said. He turned his attention back to the Autobots and turned the dial on the gauntlet, constricting his fist as he did so. In response the team started screaming and crying out in agonizing pain, their bodies slowly being crushed by the telekinetic force holding them in place.

Panic and rage hitting her system at the same time Hunter bellowed, "Starscream!" The femmling quickly reached back and pulled her golden energy bow out of her quiver. The silvery energy beam automatically stung up and she loaded the bow with an armor piercing arrow, drawing the string back and anchoring it at the corner of her mouth. Instantly she took aim, ready to let loose.

Starscream let up the force on the 'bots, much to their relief, and a tense, heavy silence fell over the cavern as the femmling and mech faced off. "If you value the lives of your teammates at all," Starscream growled lowly, glaring at the Hybrid, "you will put those down and surrender yourself."

Hunter's gaze narrowed, her processor turning over and over as she decided what to do.

/_**Don't do it, Hunter!**_\\\ 'Bee exclaimed, voice pinched with pain.

"Don't listen to him!" Arcee shouted at the same time.

"Take 'im out, Red!" Bulkhead hollered.

Starscream narrowed his gaze at her, silently challenging her. "Are you really willing to risk the lives of your family?" He didn't say it, but Hunter knew that's what he was thinking.

And she had the answer. No. She wasn't. Closing her optics and sighing in defeat, Hunter lowered the bow and loosened the string, letting both fall do the ground. When three Decepticons rushed up, grabbed her arms, and began to relieve her of her bow, arrows, and flame-saber she didn't even try to fight them off—an easy task to accomplish. Instead she stood their glumly, her posture slumped, and glared up at Starscream with a scowl. "You won't get away with this, you jackaft," she rumbled.

Starscream chuckled. "On the contrary, my love," he responded. "I believe I already have."

* * *

From her spot in a dark corner of the cavern, a Hybrid femme, concealed behind a large spire of energon and hidden with an invisibility spell smirked and chuckled in amusement. "Well, well," she remarked softly, "it's a good thing I picked today to start following you, honey. What better way to see what you're capable of than to see you in this very situation? The Mistress will be pleased."

* * *

**Confession #9:**

** I know it's weird to say, but I think Greasy has almost become like a surrogate Grandpa—not just to Hunter—but to me as well. I never knew my dad's dad (he was killed in a truck accident when my dad was really young) and my mom's dad was the only grandfather I ever knew and died several years ago, so I think Greasy's kind of taken over that spot now. It's weird but it's true. I love that old guy—I really do.**

**Confession #10: **

** I know I'll get some questions about this, so I'll answer it right now. No. The Hybrid femme at the end is NOT Luna, it is one of her followers. What is this follower's name? I have no idea. You can call her whatever the heck you like—I don't really care.**

**Confession #11: **

** I actually have a second cousin you can speak Ancient Greek and Latin.**

**Confession #12: **

** She's not helping me with the chapter titles.**

**Confession #13:**

** SHE SHOULD.**

**Confession #14: **

** As much as I hate Starscream, I have to admit that I love writing for him. I don't really know why—it's just so much fun! Oh, and uh, also—I'll get massacred for this—I really do hate Starscream with all my being… but, unlike Hunter, I do tend to find his voice a smidge sexy. Just a smidge, and not all the time! Steve Blum does an amazing job of voicing him! He gets all the right pitches when he needs to—the deeper, more sinister tones (the sexy ones) and then the high-pitched, squeaky cracking ones (bust a gut every time)! That's probably why I love writing for 'Screamer because I just hear Steve's voice.**

**Confession #15:**

** Now that I've talked about Steve Blue voicing Starscream I have to go watch the video of 'Screamy going through the drive-thru again. I'm out. Peace!**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS!**


	5. Hell Breaks Loose

***NOTE TO READERS: IF YOU DON'T READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF MY CHAPTERS, PLEASE START DOING THAT. I HAVE THESE HERE FOR A REASON.***

**Yay! I got this updated sooner than I expected. Now after this one, I'm going to go back to my regular writing schedule and update my fics. in order. I need to be disciplined! *shakes finger at self* Focus, Chuck, focus! *smacks self* Ow! Okay! I'll focus harder and be more disciplined, don't hit me anymore! *goes to smack self again but grabs hand* Stop it! … What the pit am I doing?!**

**AllSpark Princess—Of course. You know this girl. ;)**

**WolfAssassin369—I can assure you that Optimus doesn't come in to this fight. Unfortunately for Hunter and everyone else.**

**Shadescribe—Yay! I made you feel uncomfortable! It's always fun when I do that. XD**

**Alice Gone Madd-*chanting* Go, Hunter! Go, Hunter, go! Go, Hunter! Go, Hunter, go!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

X-Ray Dog; _Reign of Hell_

5

Ω Abyssus Effrego Puter Ω

(Hell Breaks Loose)

"I can see daylight up ahead!" Miko announced, stopping a pointing at a sunlit opening at the end of the tunnel they were traveling.

"Finally!" Jack exclaimed, sick and tired of running blind in the dark. He was sure his hands, knees, shins, and toes were completely black and blue and scraped by now from stubbing, tripping and falling, and bashing against something. If he never saw pitch blackness again, it would be too soon.

"Something's not right here," Raf suddenly announced, eyes locked on his phone.

Miko and Jack looked back at him. "What is it, Raf?" Jack questioned.

The younger boy shook his head, not looking up. "The 'bots' signatures," he said, confusion on his face. "They're still there, but they're not moving like they were before."

"The Decepti-creeps must have trapped 'em!" Miko exclaimed, anger rising up inside her.

"Come on!" Jack said, running towards the opening at the end of the cavern.

When they reached the opening, the kids froze and blinked for a moment, dazzled by the bright sunlight. Once their eyes had adjusted, they all looked out. The first thing they saw was an utterly huge cavern brimful with energon and for a second they marveled at the sight. Then they looked down into the cave to see dozens of 'cons going about the business excavating said energon. In the very center of them, near what must have been an elevator that went up into the Decepticon warship, stood Starscream, surveying the activity. The self-appointed Decepticon Lord was too lazy to actually help with the harvesting. Imagine that. And right near starscream, chained in a circle around a large spire of energon, and under guard by a squad of 'cons, were Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee.

"The 'cons did capture the 'bots," Raf gulped in a hushed tone.

"Those dirty rats!" Miko exclaimed at a loud whisper. "They can't do that the 'bots—especially not to Bulkhead! I'll make 'em pay!"

"Hey," Jack suddenly remarked, scanning the area again and again, "do either of you see Hunter down there?"

Miko quickly shut up and all the kids began looking hard and close at the area where Team Prime was being held captive. The Hybrid was chained up with the others, but she wasn't chained up anywhere else either. "You don't think Starscream took her up into the ship do you?" Raf asked, starting to worry for his friend.

"I dunno," Jack confessed, praying that wasn't what happened. They all knew Starscream's feelings for Hunter, and if Starscream had taken her up into the Nemesis, it would be for one purpose and one purpose only. Nobody wanted that to happen.

"There she is," Miko announced, touching Jack's shoulder and pointing.

Jack followed the girl's finger until his gaze finally lighted on a large cage located on the far side of the elevator, surrounded by even more 'cons than the 'bots were. At first he couldn't see anything there because of the mechs, but once he look closer, the seventeen-year-old caught a bright flash of scarlet. Miko was right. Hunter was in that cage and being kept under heavy guard. "We gotta get down there," he stated. "We can't let the 'cons take them as prisoners."

"Duh!" Miko exclaimed. That was the most obvious statement of the year.

"But how exactly do we get down there?" Raf asked the big question. He looked down over the edge they were standing near at the large drop. The 'bots may have been able to jump down there easily enough, but there was no way they—as humans—would be able to jump down there… and _**live**_.

"Easy," Miko stated. She turned to the left and pointed at the spires of energon that jutted out of the side of the cavern wall. "Well climb down those. It'll be just like a ladder." Without a second thought, the sixteen-year-old crouched down and made a flying leap over to the first spire. She landed, but the surface was slicker than she anticipated and she started to slip and fall. She left out a quiet shriek. "Whoa-oh!"

"Miko!" the boys exclaimed, reaching out towards her.

Miko slipped and fell over the side of the spire, but she managed to snag it before she fell all the way to the floor. Quickly she scrambled back up on top and clung to the energon for dear life. Once she'd stopped shaking so much, she wiped her brow and grinned back at the boys with a wink. "Easy-peasey." She then climbed down to the next spire down.

Raf and Jack watched after her before meeting each other's gazes and shrugging. There was only once way down and this was it. But they really wished it wasn't! They started to follow Miko's lead, only trying to be more careful than she had been at first.

* * *

Sitting in the corner of the cage, Hunter groaned and slammed her head back against the bar behind her. She felt like an animal inside this thing. Needless to say she didn't like it, but escape didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. She'd already tried breaking out, but the cage was made up of that stupid metal that not even she could mangle or weld through. Not to mention the fact that she was being guarded. There was no point in looking for a way out of here now. She was trapped. They were all trapped.

"Leave us," Starscream's voice reached the Hybrid's audio-receptors, and she looked up to see the squad of Decepticons filing away from the cage to reveal the self-titled Emperor of Destruction himself standing there. Once again he was gazing down at her desire and want.

A deep growl rumbled up from Hunter's chestplate and she instinctively tensed up, ready to fight if she had to. And she would probably have to. "Ya know, 'Screamy," she said, "you'd be able to see me better if I wasn't in this cage. You can let me out. I promise I won't hurt you."

Chuckling, Starscream stalked forward and knelt down beside the cage so that he was on her level. "I may love you with a passion as fervent as the fires of Pit, my dear," he purred, causing the femmlings tank to churn, "but that doesn't mean I trust you in the least bit."

"Well, what'd'ya know?" Hunter remarked with a dark smirk behind her battle mask. "You _**are**_ smarter than you look."

"Oh, believe me, Hunter," Starscream assured her, "I am more intelligent than you know." With that, 'Screamer raised his gloved hand once more and held it out towards her before turning the dial and making a grasping motion.

"Ah!" Much to Hunter's horror she was pulled out of her corner and across the floor of the cage towards Starscream, unable to stop herself no matter how hard she fought. She braced her feet against the bars in an effort to keep as much distance as she could between herself and the perverted mech, but unfortunately Starscream had a new tactic up his sleeve as well.

Crooking his digit, the mech made a "come to me" motion with it, using the telekinetic force of the gauntlet to force the young Hybrid to sit up and lean forward. Their faces were centimeters apart, separated only by the bars and Hunter's mask. "Quit resisting," he said. "It will be worth it."

"As if!" Hunter spat. "I'll quit resisting when you're dead and gone!"

Starscream chuckled and shook his head at her. She most definitely had spunk—there was no doubt about that. And he liked spunk. "You are a most stubborn femme," he declared, voice think and husky. To some other femmes he may have sounded very sexy. But this was Hunter he was talking to, and of all the things she thought of Starscream as, 'sexy' wasn't one of them.

"Oh, really? What was your first clue, Strip-o-Gram?"

Starscream snarled, his face shadowing with anger, evidently not taking kindly to his new nickname. How was it possible for a femme to be as alluring and yet as infuriating as Hunter was? What the Pit was stopping him from just snuffing her right now? Oh, yeah. He was hopelessly, obsessively in love with everything about her. Not to mention the fact that she was a beloved member of the Autobot team, the spark-daughter of a very protective Prime, and would come back to life and scrap him in return. "You little glitch," he snarled.

Well aware that she'd revved the Decepticon Lord off and quite proud of herself for it, Hunter smirked behind her mask. "Takes one to know one, Starscream."

Roaring with rage, Starscream released the femmling from the telekinetic hold of the glove, got back up on his feet and quickly stormed away, red in the face. How the heck was it possible to be so attracted to and in love with someone and yet be so repulsed by and furious with them at once? Love was a very strange thing.

"Yeah, that's right, you walk your huffy self away from here," Hunter called bitingly after him. She snorted and scooted back to the far corner of the cage, situating herself as comfortably as she could. "Friggin' prima donna."

"Pst! Hunter!" a voice whispered. "Hunter!"

"Hmm?" Hunter sat up and looked around. She finally spotted three familiar faces peeking out from behind a large spire of energon several yards away. Her sapphire blue optics tripled in size and her jaw slightly dropped open. "You guys!" she whispered back incredulously.

Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Jack, Miko, and Raf broke out from their hiding place and sprinted towards their friends cage. Unfortunately the bars were spaced so that a Hybrid wouldn't be able to get out even if in organic form, so that meant they couldn't get into the cage either. They'd have to be extra careful and keep an eye out for any Decepticon coming their way. "Hey, Jailbird!" Miko greeted her friend with a cheesy grin.

Hunter rolled her eyes at the name. "What the heck are you three doing here?" she asked, still whispering and retracting her battle mask. "You're supposed to be back at the base!"

"You honestly have to ask us what we're doing here?" Jack shot back with a skeptical look. Seriously? Did Hunter not know who she was talking to?

"Okay, yeah, never mind. Redundant question," Hunter agreed with a wave of her hand. "But still you guys shouldn't be here. It's way too dangerous! What would've happened if the 'cons saw you? What's gonna happen if they _**do**_ see you?!"

"But we're here to help get you guys out," Raf insisted with a hopeful smile.

"How?" Hunter inquired. "We've all tried to get loose already. Nothing's worked."

"How about picking the locks?" Raf suggested.

"No good. They're keycard locks."

"Where's the keycard?" Jack questioned.

"Starscream has it in one of his interiors," Hunter answered. "You'll never get it from him without him knowing."

"What about your flame-saber?" Miko asked. "I'll bet you could slice your way out of this cage with that thing."

"They took it from me," Hunter replied glumly, "along with my bow and arrows." She pointed over to where Starscream was standing, watching as his mechs excavated the energon deposit and trying to cool off. "Starscream has 'em over there by him on the rock."

"This looks like a mission for us, guys," Miko said, looking excited by the prospect. "Don't worry, Hunt, we'll get you kick-aft sword over here to you!"

"How?" Raf asked. "Starscream's guarding it."

"Yeah, Miko," Jack agreed. "It's not just a simple matter of walking over there and asking him to give us the sword and bringing it back here. We're gonna have to sneak it away from him, and with Starscream standing right there, and the flame-saber all the way up on top of the rock we have to climb in order to get to it, the odds aren't exactly in our favor."

"Which is why we're gonna have a distraction," Miko stated.

"What distraction?" Raf asked.

With that, Miko turned back and looked up at Hunter with a devious grin.

Seeing her friend's grin, Hunter cocked an optic-ridge, not understanding at first. Then she got it. She gasped, her optics widening and her stomach churning once again in revulsion at the very thought of what Miko was implying. "No," she said. "No, no, no! Forget it—I'm not doin' that crap. I will be scarred for life if I do that and I'm already scarred for life because of him!"

"Well it's the only way you're gonna be able to get your sword back," Miko pointed out firmly, fists on her hips.

Hunter became quiet, pressing her lipplates into a firm line at this. Miko was right, and she knew it, but that didn't make the situation any better or less disgusting. "I almost wonder if it's worth it," she murmured, more to herself than to her friends. Sighing in defeat, the Hybrid motioned for her friends to come around on the far side of the cage, where they would be out of sight when Starscream came over. Then she stood. Fixing her gaze on Starscream, the teen swallowed down her queasiness and steeled herself for what she was about to do. "Dad, please forgive me," she whispered. Finally she retracted her battlemask and went over to the cage corner that was closest to Starscream and leaned up against the bars. Putting on a coy smile, the femmling began running a hand provocatively over her chassis. "Oh, Starscream," she called in her best seductive voice. She made herself sick with it, but it must have worked because Starscream rapidly wheeled around to face her, optics wide and interested. Too interested. Ignoring her nerves and the snickers of her friends, Hunter kept up her façade. "Oh, Starscream, can you come over here please? I would…" she swallowed hard, "… love to talk to you."

Almost instantly the Seeker was coming her way, looking even more intrigued by this change of events. "Yes, my love?" he questioned eagerly.

Hunter internally squirmed at the term, but kept her mask on as best she could. "You know, I was just thinking about what you said before and I realize that you're right."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. It's such a strain for me to resist you, and now I realize why. Because I…" she had to bite her lip to keep herself from throwing up and force herself to keep eye contact, "… I am in love with you." Oh, sick. She was gonna be soooo sick….

Starscream swallowed hard, optics widening even more. His tank was nothing but excited jitters and his head felt light and airy. Was he hearing this right? Was this really happening? This wasn't some sick, sadistic, lucid daydream right—she was actually standing here before him saying these things? "You… you're in love with me?"

Hunter leaned forward with half-lidded optics. "Very much so," she rumbled throatily, voice low. "I always have, I've just been too much a fool up till now to see it."

"You have?"

"_He's buying it_," Hunter thought in amusement to herself. "_He's actually buying it! So much for not trusting me worth slag, huh?_ Oh, yes," the voiced. "I was blind and stupid and foolish and you opened my eyes to my true feelings. I am forever indebted to you, Starscream."

The mech swallowed and licked his lipplates. "Hunter…"

"Come here," Hunter said, crooking a finger. "Close your optics and lean in close. Let me tell you exactly how I want to thank you, my love."

Looking more than eager now, Starscream did just that a happy smile on his lipplates.

Hunter rolled her eyes skyward and quietly groaned, wishing more than anything she didn't have to do this. She wasn't even positive she had the stomach for it. Swallowing hard, the teen squeezed her optics shut and leaned in to the mech's audio-receptor and began to whisper the most explicit, juiciest, and filthiest things she could think of.

With Starscream well distracted, the kids darted out from their hiding place in the shadow of the cage and sprinted across to the rock that Hunter's weapons were sitting upon. They all stood around the base of it and gazed upward. It wasn't the very biggest boulder in the world, but it was certainly large enough to keep what they wanted well out of their reach. "Well, that's convenient," Miko muttered. "How are we supposed to get up there to it? There's like basically no incline until you're about half-way up!"

"Maybe… if we all got up on each other's shoulders?" Raf suggested a little uncertainly.

"Worth a shot," Jack said with a nod. He walked over towards the base of the boulder and crouched down. "Come on, Miko. You up first, then Raf."

Miko came forward and stepped over Jack's shoulders before slowly sitting down on his shoulders. Then she turned to Raf and held out a hand to him. "Come on," she said.

Grabbing her hand, Raf clambered up onto her shoulders and took his own seat there.

With everybody situated, Jack slowly rose up to stand again, groaning, trembling, and slightly swaying under the weight. Once he was at full height, the boy let go of Miko's ankles and braced his hands against the boulder to prop himself up. "Okay, Raf," he grunted, doing his best to not buckle under the weight of his two friends, "see if you can climb up now. Miko, hold him and don't let him fall."

Moving by slow centimeters, Raf managed to get to the point where he was standing on Miko's shoulders, her hands wrapped around his feet as he wobbled back and forth. "Whoa-oh!" The thirteen-year-old braced himself against the boulder to steady himself. He looked up. There seemed to be enough incline now for him to be able to scramble up to the top. "I think I can get up there," he said. "Brace yourselves." The young boy crouched down slightly and then launched himself off Miko's shoulders and up, gaining a good hand and foothold on the rock. Unfortunately he also caused Jack and Miko to tumble over backwards in a heap on the cavern floor. "Sorry," he mumbled. Then he clambered the rest of the way up the rock to the top. Crouching down for a moment, the boy peeked around, just to make sure there were not Decepticons watching, then he stood and made his way over to Hunter's flame-saber.

The weapon was in sleep-mode, as it usually was when Hunter wasn't using it, so Raf didn't really have to worry about damaging the blade if he banged it around (could the blade ven be damaged?) or hurting himself or anyone else. Because she had been in Cybertronian form when it had been taken from her, the saber was that size. The boy internally groaned at this. This thing was probably going to be pretty heavy and a glitch to move. At least it was already somewhat sloped down the incline. Getting behind the weapon, Raf placed his hands on the smooth golden surface and started pushing with all his might. At first, the sword wouldn't budge. But then it slowly started to move until finally it was sloped down the incline enough that it started sliding on its own. Raf wasn't prepared for this and he went tumbling down to the ground with the flame-saber as well, unhurt but a bit dazed. "Whoa-oh! Oof!"

"Way to go, Raf!" Miko cheered.

Jack shushed her and hurried over to the flame-saber, kneeling down beside it and getting his arms around it. "Come on," he said quietly. "Let's get this over to Hunter. I think she's had enough of distracting Starscream for one day."

And, oh, how correct Mr. Darby was. Hunter was very nearly literally sick with what she was whispering into Starscream's audio-receptor to keep him distracted and buy the kids time. She had never been more appalled by herself. Where the heck was she even coming up with half the stuff she was feeding 'Screamer's imagination with?! "_If Dad heard any of this_," the teen thought to herself, "_he'd wash my mouth out with soap until it was all I could taste for the rest of the year._ _I actually might just end up doing that to myself. Ugh! Come on, guys! Hurry up before I puke here!_" All at once, the Hybrid felt something cool, firm, and smooth slide between her fingers and up into the palm of her waiting hand.

"Hunter," the barely there whisper was Jack's.

Smirking even as she continued to whisper dirty nothing's into her obsessive stalker's audio-receptor, Hunter opened her eyes, looked down and gripped the hilt of her flame-saber firmly. About time! Carefully she pulled it through the bars and into the cage. The blade awakened. Meeting the gazes of her friends she winked and once again motioned them around to the shadow of the cage, then she turned back to her most unwanted wanna-be lover. "You wanna know what else, Starscream?" she asked, voice still sultry and throaty.

"Hmm?" the mech hummed dreamily, nursing the thoughts and images she's already put into his head. His optics drifted open half-mast and he looked at her.

Still smiling sweetly, Hunter batted her eyes and said, "You're a completely gullible idiot." As she said it her voice returned to normal and her smile turned into a scowl.

That shook the Decepticon out of his dream and he shook his head before staring at her in surprise. It hadn't sunk in yet. "What?"

Sending her pyrokinesis down into her flame-saber, Hunter ignited the long sharp blade with hot, blue fire. Grasping the hilt with both hands, the femmling swung the sword back over her shoulder and then forward with a yell. "Ahhh!" With all her strength she slammed the blade against the metal bars of the cage and was rewarded when they gave and flew back, the whole side of the cage very nearly exploding off. She was free!

Blown back by the concussion of the strike, Starscream hit the floor in a heap and rolled onto his side, lifting himself up onto his hands. He stared back over his shoulder in sheer awe. How in the name of Primus could she have broken through those bars? It was impossible!

Wasting no time, Hunter sprang out of her cage and sprinted across to where the others were being held under guard. Drawing her saber back again, the teen threw it forward once more, sending out a wave of flame at the ring of the Decepticons. It slammed into them concussively, not just melting some of their armor but also knocking them to the floor, those that had been closest, snuffed. Darting forward, razors extended, Hunter sliced through her teammates' bonds.

"'Bout time!" Arcee nearly laughed. Immediately extracting her arm blades, she went after a 'con.

"Hey, I was locked up in a cage," Hunter answered. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Sure, sure," Bulkhead teased as he too began clobbering 'cons. "The old "I was locked in a cage excuse"."

"I'm serious, Bulkhead," Hunter stated drily. She sliced through a 'con with her flame-saber as he came her way.

/_**Outta curiosity**_,\\\ Bumblebee said, coming up behind her and taking out a 'con as it came at her, /_**what were you saying to Starscream over there?**_\\\

Hunter's tank churned. "You don't wanna know. Whoa!" Without warning, Hunter was suddenly lifted off her feet and up into the air by an invisible force and pulled across to Starscream. The femmling growled. She _**really**_ hated the stupid gauntlet of his!

"I'm not finished with you yet!" Starscream bellowed, seething with anger. "You think you can just tease me so cruelly like that and just walk away and expect to forget what you said?!" He was so PO-ed that his voice was cracking and squeaking.

Hunter rolled her optics. "Oh, please, stop being such a chick, 'Screamer!" she spat back. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that you actually believed every single word of what I said. You can't honestly expect me to believe that you actually thought I was really in love with you."

Starscream remained silent for a moment. The venom seemed to leave his faceplate and for a second or two he looked hurt, but then the rage came flooding back and he turned up the dial on the gauntlet and balled his hand into a fist. "You little glitch!"

"Hah-ahh!" Hunter cried out in pain as the telekinetic force holding her aloft began to constrict tightly around her, slowly crushing her. Gritting her denta she tried to fight back.

All at once Starscream was blasted in the chest with a laser cannon, subsequently knocking out the telekinesis as well and he was blown backwards. "Ugh!"

Free, Hunter dropped to the floor and landed in a crouch before standing back up to full height again. She turned around to see Bulkhead poised there, arm extended and cannon still smoking. She smiled. "I owe ya, Green Giant."

"I'll add it to your tab."

Snorting, Hunter put on her battle mask and turned back to face a recovering Starscream. Her lipplates pulled back in a snarl behind her mask and her optic-ridges furrowed as she fixed her gaze on the mech. Igniting her flame-saber again, the teen activated her shield. With a battle cry she charged, sword raised and ready to strike.

Groaning, Starscream sat up and shook off his daze, rubbing at the scorch mark on his chestplate. When he heard a yell he looked up to see a scarlet and black-and-silver femmling baring down on him, sword raised and ready. His optics widened. Gauntleted hand flying up his other hand darted to the dial and he turned it all the way up.

"Hrah!" Hunter swung the flame-saber down as hard as she could, ready to extinguish Starscream's spark for good when it suddenly meet some sort of barrier and rebounded off of it with such force that it went flying out of her hands and across the cavern. Hunter herself fell over backwards. "Oof!" Dazed she laid there, trying comprehend what had just happened.

Getting to his feet with a grunt, Starscream gazed down at the prone femmling with a sinister sneer and snickered. "The gauntlet allows me to implement more than mere telekinetic force, Hunter," he declared. "Force fields are a particular asset of its abilities as well. You cannot touch me."

Shaking off her stupor, Hunter rolled into a backwards somersault and got back up onto her feet, deactivating her shield. "That's what you think," she snarled.

"That, my dear, is what I know."

"Care to test that theory?"

"By all means, be my guest."

That was all the invitation Hunter needed. Curling her hands into rock-hard fists, Hunter started up a barrage on the force field. "Hrah!" Letting a fist fly, the sixteen-year-old struck the force field as hard as she could. A ripple went through it, but that was all. "Hyah!" She hit it again. Another ripple nothing more. She kept at it, hitting faster and harder each time and still nothing happened, but she refused to give up. If she'd cracked a huge force field while battling Bombardier she could break this one to pieces and she would, no matter what it took. "Hah!" Hunter struck the field again and, while she did nothing to damage the field, she did manage to make Starscream skid back a bit with the force.

Starscream laughed. "Is that all you have?!" he challenged, clearly enjoying this.

Smirking and retracting her mask, Hunter sucked in a deep intake of air and let it loose in one of the loudest, most piercing, most reverberating sonic scream she'd ever sounded off. The force of it was enough to not only drive Starscream back to slam against the cavern wall but also blow apart piles of rubble and shatter energon spires that happened to be in range. "That more to your liking, Starscream?" she snarled.

Glaring up at her Starscream simply growled back.

Breaking into an immediate dead run, Hunter sped forward and began slamming her fists against her opponents protective shield again, taking advantage of the fact that she had him cornered. She kept hitting faster and faster and faster until her arms were just a blur with hyperspeed, drilling away at the shield.

When she still wasn't breaking through, Starscream began to smirk and then laugh evilly. "See?!" he guffawed. "You can't touch me! No matter how hard you try, you can't…" he dropped off when he heard the sound of a sharp crack. Looking down at where the femmling was punching, he saw a large crack that was quickly expanding into a spider-web of fissures and cracks. His optics widened in horror and disbelief. She was doing it. She was actually breaking through the force field! "No!" he screamed. "No, this isn't possible! No!"

Hunter, having increased her force once she'd heard the first crack, continued to drill away at the force field, focusing all her attention and power on it. Her fists were starting to ache, as were her arm joints and muscle cables, but she kept at it. She was going to break that force field and she was going to get rid of the stupid gauntlet! Drawing back her right fist one more time, the femmling let it fly forward and smash against the force field as hard as she could make it and was rewarded with a shattering sound as the field blew apart. Without a second to spare, Hunter grabbed Starscream's gauntleted hand and quickly ripped the gauntlet off, crushing it in her grip as she did. She threw it somewhere behind her. "What were you saying, Starscream?" she questioned sarcastically, voice rumbling and dangerous.

Cornered and receiving the death glare, Starscream did the one thing he could think of. He reached out, seized hold of a decent sized stock of Hunter's copper cyber-hair and yanked it as hard as he could. It worked in the sense that it made Hunter yelp out in pain and stumble off to the side, but it also backfired because he received a jarring electrical shock from the act. The mech cried out in greater pain than the femmling had. Both parties stumbled away from each other, Starscream hitting the floor as he joints and cables smoked from the fry.

Instinctively grabbing her wires and combing her digits through them, Hunter stared down at her opponent in some confusion. What in the name of Primus? "I can send out electrical jolts through my cyber-hair?" she asked softly of herself as it all started to make sense. A grin slowly parted her lips. "Cool! Whoa-oh! Oof!" The teen's feet were suddenly knocked out from under her and she collided with the cavern floor. The sound of whirring and clanking came to her audio-receptors and a moment later she saw Starscream in his alternate mode zooming up into the air, trying to get away. Snarling, the Hybrid quickly rose into a kneeling position and rocketed off the ground, using her pyrokinesis to propel herself through the air. "You're not getting away!" she roared. Snagging hold of his tail stabilizer, Hunter whipped around and threw him back down towards the ground. "Hrraahh!"

"Yaahh!" Unable to stabilize himself again, 'Screamer transformed just before he crashed into the rock. He went bouncing across the cavern floor before he finally slammed into a large spire of energon and was stopped. Shaking his head the 'con rubbed it, along with numerous other sore and damaged places on his body. His wings were particularly beat up. He wasn't going to be able to fly anytime soon, that was for sure. The Emperor of Destruction looked up with wide, dreading optics as his aggressor touched down in front of him. Gulping he shrunk away.

"You didn't think you'd get away that easily, did you, Starscream?" Hunter asked, a hand on her hip, glaring down at the mech. When she was angry, the femmling's eyes always seemed to become a deeper and more vivid shade of sapphire, though in reality they stayed the same shade. "You tie up my teammates, put me in a cage like some animal, and you think I'll just let you fly off just like that?" Chuckling darkly, the teen shook her head. "Think again, lover boy." Priming a cannon, Hunter extended her arm and took careful aim at the downed 'con—she couldn't miss at this range if she'd wanted to. "Surrender, Starscream," she ordered, voice taking on that rolling thunder, battle-field quality she'd picked up from Optimus. "I won't tell you again."

Starscream's face hardened. "Never!" he hissed.

Hunter narrowed her gaze. "You'll regret that decision," she warned him, charging her cannon and getting ready to fire.

"No," Starscream replied softly, "I don't think I will." Ever so slowly he moved his hand and reached into one of his interior compartments before pulling out a small, rectangular, metal box with a red button on it. The Seeker hadn't tested this thing out yet, but it looked like he was about ready to. He pressed the button. Almost instantly the thing very literally lunged forward out of the palm of his hand and opened up and expanded into a large net of electricity. It headed straight for Hunter.

Hunter's nerves tingled hot, telling her that that thing was dangerous, but she was so completely caught off guard by the sudden movement—and the device moved so fast—that she didn't even have time to think about moving. In the blink of an eye the net was wrapped tightly around her, sending an agonizing, continuous jolt of electricity through her. "Ahhhhh!" Hunter fell backwards to the ground, the net seeming to constrict tighter. "Ahhhh-ha! Ahhhhhh!" Partly due to instinct to try and escape and partly due to her body's reflex to the electrocution, the femmling arched, strained and threw herself against the net. It grew tighter and the jolts move powerful. "Yaaaahhhh!" Tears already trickling down her cheeks, Hunter rolled over onto her side and instinctively curled into the fetal position, desperately trying to get away from the net. It burned—it hurt! It hurt so bad! As if sensing her struggling, the net drew itself even tighter and increased the voltage. Hunter screamed in sheer agony.

Hearing the Hybrid's cries, the 'bots whipped around and looked in her direction. Their optics widened. "Hunter!" they screamed at once, and began running towards her. They didn't make it that far as they were all set upon and pinned down by the Decepticons, but even then they still tried to struggle towards their teammate. "Hunter! Let her go, Starscream! Hunter!"

Smirking and chuckling, Starscream got back up on his feet and limped his way to stand over the straining femmling, gazing down at her darkly. "This is called an Agony Web," Starscream informed her. "Imagine the worst pain you've ever felt multiplied tenfold. Oh, but wait, that's right. You don't have to imagine it."

Hunter groaned and howled in pain, rolling around, fighting, and struggling, trying to find some way to get out of this net. Nothing was working! No matter how hard she tried, the net wasn't loosening, and it only seemed to grow tighter with each strain.

"You can't fight it," Starscream declared. "In fact I would just quite moving altogether if I were you. The more you struggle and strain the tighter the Web becomes and the more powerful the voltage becomes until it fries you. But of course with the electricity jolting through you, it's virtually impossible to keep from struggling, so you really can't win no matter what."

"Frag you, Starscream!" Hunter rasped through clenched denta. "Fra-ah!-ag… you! Ahhh-ha-ahhh!" The teen screwed her optics shut and writhed in agony, wanting nothing more than for it to be taken away. More than anything she wished her father was here. They could really use him right about now—_**she**_ could really use him right about now. But he was thousands of miles away at the moment. And even if the Prime did sense her pain—as he most assuredly was—he wouldn't be showing up anytime soon. They were in this alone. She was in this alone.

Starscream chuckled. "That's all I ever dream of, my love," he purred. With that he leaned down and whispered into her audio-receptor, "I can make this go away, Hunter. The pain, the tightness, I can make it all go away and bring you relief. All you need to do is surrender yourself to me."

Hunter almost couldn't believe it. He was the one who had inflicted her with this pain in the first place and he still expected her to actually just give herself over to him?! The rat! "Take it…" she seethed, "… and sho-ove it! Ahhhh!"

Starscream growled softly. Without warning he felt a feather light tap on the side of his helm and looked to see that it had been a rock that struck him. He raised an optic-ridge. What in the AllSpark?

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, Stalkerscream?!"

Starscream looked over in the direction the voice seemed to be coming from and saw the three human children standing there, the female appearing to have been the one who threw the rock and yelled at him. A twisted, evil gleam came into his red optics as a smirk curved his lips. He stood. "Ah, I see you Autobots have brought your human pets along," he commented sinisterly. "How very stupid of you."

"You leave 'em alone, Starscream!" Bulkhead shouted, trying to break free of the 'cons who were holding him down.

"I would," Starscream stated almost too innocently for his own good, "but it appears as though they have no desire to be left alone, so I shall do as they wish." Stepping around Hunter he made his way towards the children.

"Starscream!" the 'bots all bellowed. Hunter tried to move around so she could take the Seeker's legs out from under him while she was still in range, but the net quickly nixed that plan. She wasn't moving anywhere.

"You pathetic, fleshy little insect," Starscream sneered as he came closer and closer to the humans. "Do you actually believe you can stop me from hurting your friends?"

Miko, ever the fool-hardy daredevil of the group, put her fists on her hips and glared right back at the Decepticon. "Try us," she challenged.

"Miko!" both Jack and Raf exclaimed as they stood behind her, cowering away with every step Starscream made towards them.

"Oh-ho, believe me, child," Starscream replied, "I will. And I will make you regret ever having said that."

/_**Guys, run!**_\\\ Bumblebee buzzed frantically.

"Whatever you say!" Jack replied. He snagged Miko's wrist and began running, hauling her along after him. "Come on, Raf!"

Raf ran as fast as he could, but he had never been the most athletic person and his short legs didn't help either. Even with fear and adrenaline pumping through his body he just couldn't keep up with his taller friends. Worse, he couldn't escape Starscream. Without any warning the thirteen-year-old was snagged by the back of his shirt collar and plucked up off the floor like a kitten. "Ah-ahh!" He was lifted higher and higher until he was face to face with the Emperor of Destruction himself. Staring into those sadistic optics the boy froze.

Jack and Miko stopped running and whipped around, staring up at their young friend in horror. "Raf!" they both gasped.

/_**Put him down, Starscream!**_\\\ 'Bee ordered, trying to break free of his captors.

Completely ignoring the scout, Starscream lifted a scalpel sharp digit and extended it towards Raf, gently gliding the very tip down the middle of the petrified boy's torso.

"No!" Hunter screamed, still trying to struggle out of the net and towards 'Screamer at the same time. "Raf, no!" She herself being mutilated and tortured was one thing, but she was not about ready to let that happen to any of her loved one, 'bots and humans alike. "Starscream, you can't do this! Rahhhh-ahhh!" The most jarring electrical pulse yet seared through her systems, paralyzing her.

"You know," he murmured after a moment, "I have always wondered what humans look like on the inside." He pressed his fingertip harder into Raf's belly. Raf gulped and whimpered.

Adrenaline and terror slammed into Hunter's system like a wrecking ball. Starscream was going to kill Raf right there in front of all of them! She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't! She'd struggled and fought so hard to find and save her family already, she wasn't about to lose a single one of them to some femme-legged, squeaky-voiced creeper like Starscream. With a roar, Hunter tried lunging for the 'con, but once again she was electrocuted into paralysis. "Yaaaahhhhhh!" The femmling watched on as Starscream continued to map out just how he was going to dissect Raf along the poor boy's body. Raf was horrified! He needed help and there was nothing she could do about it! "No!" Hunter screamed. "No! Raf! No!" The Hybrid curled into the fetal position once again and cried out as a new pain appeared beneath the pan of the Agony Wet. It was much more intense and sharper, cutting into her very core, making it feel as though she was being ripped apart molecule by molecule, but at the same time it felt energizing as if all the power in the universe was forcing itself into every crevice and fiber of her being. Overwhelmed with the sensation, Hunter blacked out.

An earth-quaking primal roar shook the cavern. Starscream froze right as he was about ready to slice into Raf's mid-section a chill as cold as the depths of space coming over him. That didn't sound good. Slowly, the 'con turned around to see just what was going on behind him and his optics widened in awe along with those of everyone else.

The Agony Web had been completely destroyed, the metal ends of it lying there scorched on the earth, smoking and sparking. Standing tall and erect in the place where she had been lying only seconds before was Hunter. At least, everyone was fairly sure it was Hunter. It was hard to tell because while she looked the same she looked completely different as well. Her glaring optics, which were fixed solely on Starscream, were glowing a bright blue, as was the Hybrid insignia at the center of her chest plate. Even more haunting was the ghostly silhouette of a mech outlining her body. She was just standing there, not even doing anything yet, but you could already sense the incredible power that was emanating from her. It pervaded the cavern with an overwhelming sensation. The Primus-state had been evoked.

"Not… good," Starscream whimpered softly to himself. He was right. For him this wasn't good. This most definitely wasn't good at all.

* * *

**Confession #16:**

** Okay, it's official. "Strip-o-Gram" is my new favorite nickname for Starscream! XD I love it! If anybody else wants to use that, you can.**

**Confession #17: **

** I don't know what Hunter said to Starscream in order to distract him. Nor do I wish to. All I can tell you is that it's probably stuff even I wouldn't say to him, and I'm the one who finds his voice sexy sometimes.**

**Confession #18: **

** "Hell breaks loose" indeed.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	6. Keeping the Secret

**UGH! Writer's-block, thou art the most sparkless of glitches. Curse you! This fight seem sooo anti-climactic than what I usually write Ugh… hopefully I'll have enough action later on in the story—including the next chapter—to make up for it. Sorry, guys. No big Primus-state battles until the end—that's part of the contract. What contract you ask? That's for me to know and you guys never to ask again.**

**WolfAssassin369—He soo deserves to get his aft handed to him. Majorly.**

**AllSpark Princess—You're on to something here.**

**Shadescribe—Starscream is a total, complete, Grade A moron. 'Nuff said.**

**Alice Gone Madd—Hunter: *reads comment, turns to me* Why are we friends with her again?**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"Got a secret—can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save. Better lock it in your pocket; taking this one to the grave…" The Pierces;_ Secrets_

6

Ω Servo Specialis Ω

(Keeping the Secret)

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

"Young 'bots," Ratchet grumbled to himself as he worked on fixing yet another broken device. "I swear they're part wrecking ball and all reckless!" He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Can't live with 'em, can't melt 'em down for spare parts."

/_**Optimus Prime to Autobot Outpost, do you read?**_/ Prime's voice suddenly came in over the comm-system.

Leaving his workbench, Ratchet crossed the room to the computer system and opened the line. "I read you, Optimus," he answered. "What seems to be the problem?"

/_**Ratchet, is Hunter all right?**_/

The medic paused for a moment, trying to decide what his old friend meant by that question. In all honesty, it could mean anything: health, energon levels, processor functions, mentality…. "What do you mean, Optimus?" Ratchet finally asked.

/_**I was inflicted with pain, Ratchet,**_/ the Prime explained gravelly, /_**and it was coming from Hunter's end of our bond. I nearly crashed because of it.**_/

Ratchet raised an optic-ridge, an unsettling feeling churning in his tank. That wasn't good. That wasn't' good at all. In terms of Hunter's physical and emotional status the spark-link she and Optimus shared had yet to be proven faulty, and if Optimus had nearly crashed due to a sensation coming from Hunter's end of the link…. "She went with Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee to scout for an energon deposit several hours ago," Ratchet explained. "They contacted me when they found it, but they haven't since then. Hold on, let me check their signals." The white and amber mech quickly turned to the keyboard again and pulled up the GPS system. His optics widened in alarm. There weren't just four blue blips on the screen anymore—now there were also red blips. Lots of them. Decepticons! "It would seem the Decepticons have located the mine as well," the medic reported. "It appears they have the team pinned down." Ratchet then cursed under his breath in Cybertronian. "Optimus, I'm detecting the cellphone signals of the children at the mine as well!"

/_**Lock onto my coordiantes and bridge me back to base, now!**_/ Optimus ordered with all possibly urgency.

"Of course," Ratchet replied, about ready to pull up Optimus' GPS coordinates when suddenly _**it**_ happened. Hunter's signature suddenly flared, changing from aqua-blue to stark white and blazing brighter than any of the other energy signatures on the screen. The mech gapped in bewilderment. What in the AllSpark…? "Optimus…" he murmured after a moment, "…Hunter's energy signature…"

/_**I feel it, Ratchet,**_/ Optimus cut him off, already knowing what his friend was about to report. The sensation was much the same as what the Prime had felt the first time Hunter and Primus had fused sparks: adrenaline-charging and intoxicating—overflowing with absolute power. But at the same time it felt very different as well: wild, dangerous—almost primal. /_**It is the Primus-state. Hunter has entered the Primus-state.**_/ And if she had done that, something had to be terribly wrong.

* * *

Chile;

From her hiding place behind the energon spires, the Hybrid femme watched on, her eyes widening in awe. The Fuser had just gone into the Primus-state! This whole situation had most definitely just become a lot more interesting. "The Mistress is definitely gonna want to know about this," she murmured.

* * *

Everyone, 'bots, 'cons, humans alike, all stared in horrified wonder at the femmling standing before them; if "femmling" was even the right word at the moment. And it most definitely wasn't. Hunter wasn't a teenaged Hybrid anymore—she looked like a literal Cybertronian goddess! A seriously revved off one at that. Slag was about to hit the fan, and from the looks of it, Starscream was the main target, as he should have been.

As it was, the target himself looked even more freaked out than everyone else in the cavern. Gulping and whimpering, Starscream took a step backwards from Hunter, suddenly finding her more terrifying than attractive. Oh, slag. Oh, slag! "Well?!" he suddenly screeched looking at the surrounding Vehicons and Eradicons. "Don't just stand there like a bunch of dolts—take her! Protect your lord!"

The 'cons all exchanged glances, none of them all that pleased with the task of taking on the ticked off, glowing-opticed, half-ghost, superpowered femme. But they had orders. What were you gonna do? Priming their cannons, all the mechs pointed them in the femmling's direction, taking careful aim, those of them not holding down the Autobots, charging towards her. Without warning they all froze in their tracks, stopped by an invisible and rather painful force. They strained and tried to fight against whatever was holding them, but it was no use; they were all paralyzed.

Starscream's gaze flashed around in terror. "Take her!" he repeated. "I ordered you to take her! **TAKE HER**!"

"We—ugh!—can't… move… Sir!" a Vehicon reported. "Something's… holding us back! Ahhhhhhh!" The mech released a blood-curdling scream as the energon was literally and most brutally ripped out of his body along with the life-blood of all the other 'cons as well. Their sparkless husks crashed to the rock floor.

The energon went flowing towards Hunter, converging into two rings that spun around her; half making a ring that slanted up over her right shoulder, the rest forming the ring that slanted up over her left shoulder. At that point there was only one explanation as to what had just taken place—Hunter had used her energon manipulation to stop the 'cons and then pull the energon directly out of their shells. That, in and of itself, was scary enough, but the really freaky part of it? Hunter hadn't so much as moved a finger yet!

"Uh… can somebody tell me what just happened?" Miko voiced, still staring at the Hybrid.

"I think…" Raf began with a gulp, "… Hunter just manipulated energon with her mind." Still seated on the floor, he scooted farther away from Primus-infused Hybrid.

"Is that even possible?" Jack questioned.

"Apparently!" Miko snapped.

With a snarl, Hunter began to advance towards Starscream, the energon still spiraling about her. Each step she took seemed to quake the cavern.

Starscream, who seemed to be even more freaked out by what had just happened than anyone else, was backing even farther away from Hunter. Every step forward she took he took three backwards. Fumbling, he opened his comm. and all but screamed into it, "Backup! I need backup! My armada, come to me!"

A moment later the sound of roaring engines came from above, drawing everyone's attention up. Starscream's backup was coming.

Hunter's lipplates parted in a thunderous growl. Starscream was safe for now; those 'cons were more of a current threat than he was, but they wouldn't be for long. Igniting flames at her feet, the Hybrid lifted off and rocketed into the air, going to meet the 'cons halfway. "Rrraaahhh!"

At that moment a ground-bridge opened up in the cavern and a red and blue Peterbilt came roaring through, transforming mid-air as it vaulted out of the vortex. Optimus landed in a crouch, some pieces of his armor still adjusting, then he stood and took in the scene before him. His gaze first went to the swarm of snuffed Decepticons littering the cave floor, then he saw his team, Starscream, and the children, all of their gazes directed upwards. He, too, looked up. His optics widened and behind his battlemask, his mouth gapped open. "Hunter…."

Still jettisoning upwards, Hunter reeled an arm back, held it there for a moment, then threw it forward. "Hah!" The motion caused some of the energon spinning around her shoot upwards towards the oncoming 'cons in the form of thousands of little crystallized energon slivers. The slivers made contact with some of the closest Decepticons, ripping through their bodies, either killing them instantly or causing them to crash and perish that way.

The rest of the 'cons quickly wheeled around and quickly made their aggressor the new target. They let loose in a barrage.

Drawing her arm back once more, Hunter pulled the rest of the energon with it, forming the liquid into a long whip. She snapped it forward, catching one of the 'cons with it. With that, the femme began to rapidly spin, using the 'con as a wrecking ball to take out oncoming others. She thinned down the field considerably more this way. "Yah!" Hunter threw the energon and the 'con down to the floor of the cavern. "Ahh!" She was suddenly blasted in the backplate and tumbled through the air several feet until she regained control. Turning back around, the teen snarled up at the mechs still firing at her. They weren't going to get away with that! With a roar, she zoomed back up to their level. "Rrrraaaahhhh!" She flat-out blasted through the closest two Decepticons.

Shaking off his daze, Optimus turned back to his team. "Autobots!" he shouted, drawing their attention. "Take the children! Get them back to base now!" The Autobots sprang into action, transforming to their alternate modes, picking up their charges, and speeding across the cavern towards the still open ground-bridge. The disappeared through it, Prime watching after them. When they were out of the way, he turned his attention back to his daughter, who was still battling the 'cons.

"Yah!" Hunter punched a hand out, palm facing outwards, and sent a kaleidoscopic beam of cosmic energy shooting towards a group of 'cons. It disintegrated them. "Hrah!" Throwing out her other hand, she did the same thing again, taking out another portion of the enemy. Quickly spinning and diving out of the way, the teen dodged a barrage of cannon fire, diving down closer to the ground and soaring back up into the air. With a growl the femmling threw her hands back and then forcefully forward, palms facing outward again. A larger, brighter, even more powerful energy beam shot out from her hands, taking out the rest of her aggressor's. With the armada taken care of, Hunter turned her glowing gaze downwards toward Starscream, who was still cowering there like an idiot. The Hybrid snarled. Without warning she cut the flames at her feet and went plummeting through the air until she landed in a kneeling position on the cavern floor with a resounding boom and slammed her right fist into it. "Ahhhhhh-ugh!" The impact was so powerful and so concentrated that much of the earthy crust of the cave floor disintegrated into dust from the impact, revealing nothing but energon beneath it.

Optimus' optics widened at the sight. "By the AllSpark…" he whispered. That was a _**ton**_ of energon.

Starscream, too, was staring in amazement at the energon. How in the name of Primus was it possible for that much energon to be on a little backwater planet? Hearing a snarl, the Seeker's attention was drawn from the energon back up to the Fuser. He gulped when he caught the killer glint in her glowing optics. If he didn't get out of here now, he was nothing but scrap metal and spare parts! Problem was, he was too bent out of shape to fly! Whimpering, the Emperor of Destruction frantically glanced around, trying to find some way out of here. His optics suddenly lighted on the elevator. It was his best option. Taking one last quick glance at the Hybrid, he went sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him in that direction, got in it, and frantically pressed the button to make it go upwards.

Hunter watched after him, gaze ever narrowing. Standing up erect, the sixteen-year-old suddenly threw her right hand out in front of and across her body. A large fissure opened up at the edge of the exposed energon because of it. She did the same thing with her left arm and another crack was formed. Throwing both of her hands backwards, the Fuser created two more on either side of her, then she crouched down, clenched her fists, and launched herself into the air one more time. The large chunk of energon that she had separated off quivered and groaned and shifted before finally breaking free from the earth and floating up after her. Hauling the energon up with her, Hunter soared up and up until she was well above the Nemesis. She hovered there, opened her hands, and lifted them skyward, hefting the energon chunk—which was about a quarter the size of the warship itself—up over her head. Clenching a fist again, she threw it down, hurling the energon at the warship. "Hrah!" The chunk slammed into the Nemesis, causing a massive explosion and mangling a large section of it.

On fire, smoking, groaning, creaking, and still lighting up in smaller explosions, the Nemesis slowly began to tilt forward and to the left, losing altitude at the same time. It slowly began to through the hole into the cavern.

Hunter watched on. Then, as abruptly as the Primus-state had activated it simply deactivated; the glow of her eyes and insignia faded away and the silhouette of Primus disappeared leaving Hunter looking like the teenager she was again. "Ugh…." Optics rolling back into her head and the fire fizzling out at her feet, Hunter began to plummet back towards the earth as well.

Breaking into a sprint, Optimus quickly morphed back to his semi form mid-stride and barreled across the cavern floor. He vaulted off a large spire of energon and up into the air, transforming back to his Cybertronian form as he did, and flew through the air towards Hunter, catching her in his massive arms. "Huh-uh!" The Prime landed on the side of the Nemesis, tumbling for a ways as it was unavoidable. When he'd righted himself and found his footing again, the mech started running towards the edge of the crashing ship and launched himself off the side. Landing on the cavern floor, he tuck and rolled into a kneeling position. Quickly he checked the unconscious femmling cradled in his arms to make sure that she was all right before getting back up on his feet and running for the ground-bridge. Without a second to spare he lunged through it.

* * *

Eyes widening as she realized the nose of the warship was coming right in her direction, the Hybrid femme quickly lurched to her feet and waved a hand across her body, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Just in time, too; the Nemesis crashed into her hiding place just seconds after she disappeared. Reappearing in another cloud of smoke outside the mine, the femme put a hand to her spark and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. That had been too close! "One thing's for sure," she panted to herself, "I definitely picked the right day to follow the girl." Waving a hand across her body once more, she disappeared again.

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

Optimus came through the ground-bridge into the base, Hunter still unconscious in his arms. However, her current insensibility wasn't his concern. It was the criss-cross pattern of nasty scorch marks and burns that covered her chassis from neck to ankles that had him worried. She hadn't healed yet! Why hadn't she healed yet?! Without a second thought, the large red and blue mech headed towards the med-bay, calling for Ratchet as he went. The Prime tenderly laid his daughter down on the medical berth, stroking her helm and murmuring softly to her in Cybertronian. "Ratchet!" Optimus called once again when the medic didn't appear on the spot.

The medic came running into the lab, the rest of the team following. "What's wrong, Optimus?" he asked, sounding as well as looking alarmed.

"Hunter," Optimus panted. "She is… she has not… she is unconscious and hasn't healed, Ratchet." The mech was in such a tizzy he was having trouble getting out a single, coherent thought.

Ratchet hurried forward and gave Hunter a quick look over before scanning her. "It's no wonder," he commented after a moment. "Her energon levels are dangerously low."

Optimus' tank sank, his optics widening in horror. Low energon levels could be a death sentence for a Cybertronian, even for one so powerful as Hunter. If they weren't raised to a stable level soon….

"Easy there, Son," a gravelly, calm voice suddenly filled the room, abruptly interrupting the Prime's thoughts. Everyone turned to see Greasy, in robotic form, standing there in the center of the doorway. He was smiling reassuringly at them all. Coming into the room, he came over to the medical berth and looked Hunter over, picking up one of her hands and examining the burns and scorches on her arms closely. He patted the unconscious femme's hands and gently laid it across her mid-plate before looking up at Optimus. "Don't start worrying yourself to death," he told the larger, younger mech, "she's not quite ready to join the Well of All Sparks just yet. Get a little energon in her and she'll be right as rain."

Suddenly a weak groan left the femmling in question, her optics slowly cracking open to reveal a fuzzy, spinning world. There was a warm presence beside her. Hunter almost instantly recognized it and tried to reach out towards it, her hand trembling with the effort. She was so tired. "Dad…" she croaked.

Turning is full attention back to his daughter, Optimus sat down on the berth beside her, taking her hand in his. He was startled to find how cold it was. "I am here, My Shooting Star," he soothed, stroking her cheekplate. "I am right here."

"Keep her quiet," Ratchet ordered. "I'll go liquefy some energon to start a drip."

"Make a little extra for her to drink as well, Ratchet," Greasy told the mech as he left the room. "A little energon in her belly will help get her going." That said, he turned back to Hunter and gave her an empathetic loo and placed a loving hand on her helm. "How are you feeling, Hunter?" he questioned, voice soft.

Hunter turned her head to meet his gaze. "Exhausted," she heaved. All at once her faceplate twisted up in pain and she groaned, quivering as some of her wounds began to heal at an agonizingly slow pace. "Frag!" she grimaced, sucking in a sharp vent.

"Shh," Optimus soothed her, trying to feed her as much comfort and strength through their bond as he could. It pained him to see her hurting like this. "Easy, Sweet-spark. Try and relax for the moment."

"Easy for you to say," Hunter snipped through clenched denta. "You're not the one covered in third degree burns!"

"Hopefully you won't be for much longer, either," Optimus stated. "Once we have some energon inside you, you should start feeling better."

"I hope so," Hunter groaned. She sucked in another sharp vent, screwing her optics shut, as another burn started to heal. Had she possessed the strength to, she would have squeezed, and more than likely crushed, her father's hand in her grip. Fortunately for him she didn't have the strength at the moment.

"Mind tellin' me what happened to you to put you here, Hunter?" Greasy questioned, stroking her head.

Hunter stared at him with a half-lidded gaze for a moment before closing her optics. Swallowing, she licked her lipplates and uttered, "Starscream. That sick son of a glitch, Starscream."

A deep, savage growl suddenly rumbled through the room, causing everyone to look in the direction of its owner—a certain Autobot commander. A dark scowl shadowed Optimus faceplate and his hands were clenched into fists, his chassis rigid and tense. He looked like he was about ready to kick someone to Cybertron and back then tear them apart. If that someone was Starscream, it definitely wouldn't be a bad thing. Go, Prime! "What did he do?" the Prime demanded, denta clenched.

"Hit on her," Miko answered before Hunter even had a chance to open her mouth, "what else?"

Hunter rolled her sapphire blues. Could Miko have been any less tactless with that answer than she had been? The Hybrid wanted to keep her spark-father at least somewhat calm and cool here. The last thing any of them need right now was a riled up, over-protective Prime on the loose and heading back to the Nemesis to make scrap metal out of Starscream. That could only end badly. (For the most part it could only end badly for the Seeker, but there was a chance that it wouldn't end all the nicely for Optimus either, so it was better to keep him at the base.) "Thank you, Miko," Hunter sighed sarcastically. "You've been oh-so helpful." To large hands where suddenly clasping her face in a gently but firm grip and the sixteen-year-old was forced to look up into the intense, deeply gazing optics of her father.

"Hunter," Optimus said, the tone of his voice telling her to level with him. "tell me the truth. What did Starscream do? What did he say?"

"Nothing that won't give me nightmares," his spark-daughter answered, "but nothing that inappropriate either." She smirked. "I bit his hand." Hunter giggled as she watched a small, prideful smile curl her commander and father's lipplates at her declaration. Her optics drifted shut when he kissed her between the optics.

"That's my femme," Optimus whispered loud enough for only Hunter and more than likely Greasy to pick up.

"Huntress," Greasy came back into the conversation, "what did Starscream do exactly?"

Hunter turned to take her Hybrid mentor into her gaze again. "Apparently when Bomber died," she explained, "he left some of his toys on the Nemesis; 'Screamer's latched on to some of them."

"What toys specifically?" Greasy inquired.

"I don't know how many he has," Hunter answered, "but the two he used today were some sort of telekinetic powered gauntlet and something called an Agony Web. He caught me up with that."

"An Agony Web," Greasy murmured thoughtfully. He nodded his head and sighed, "Yep that would explain the burns and scorch marks. Those things are a much sought after tool among Hybrid bounty hunters; very effective. Also a bit pricey; only the best can have them—unless you manage to steal one."

"Well, Bomber left his behind and Starscream latched on to it." Hunter sighed. "Not gonna do him much good now though."

"What makes you say that?" Greasy asked.

"I destroyed it."

The old Hybrid gapped, his optics wide with disbelief and wonder. Agony Webs were a virtually indestructible piece of Cybertronian tech, that's why so many bounty hunters wanted them. They were an almost fool proof trap! "You… _**destroyed **_an Agony Web?" he breathed. "How in Primus' name did you manage that?"

"Starscream had a hold of Raf," Hunter answered, recounting even as she wished she didn't have to. "He was threatening him." The Hybrid's eyes travelled past her Hybrid mentor over to where Bumblebee was standing, Raf sitting upon his shoulder. "He was going to kill him. We were all pinned down and none of us could get to Raf and then…"

"_**BOOM!**_" Miko suddenly exclaimed, jumping back into the conversation. "The net just literally exploded and Hunter's standing there, optics and logo all glowy and stuff. _**Way**_ epic!"

"Hold on," Greasy said, holding up a hand as he looked at Miko, "you said Hunter's optics and Hybrid insignia were glowing?"

"Bright as day," Bulkhead replied with a nod. "Had some kind of shadow or something around her, too. Looked a lot like when she…"

"The Primus-state," Hunter cut in, drawing Greasy's attention back to her, "I went into the Primus-state."

"The Primus-state?" Greasy repeated. "You're sure?"

"Positive."

"We all saw it," Arcee stated.

"I witnessed it as well, Greasy," Optimus informed the older mech. "Hunter was without a doubt enveloped in the Primus-state and she battled the Decepticon while there."

The rusty old Hybrid was silent for a moment, thinking this over carefully. He turned back to Hunter. "Were you in anyway trying to go into it?" he interrogated her, looking serious and grave.

Hunter shook her head. "No," she answered. "No, I wasn't—I just went into it without warning. It was almost like… it activated on its own."

Greasy's mouth twisted and twitched, his brows knitting together in a long line. This wasn't good. This wasn't what he wanted to be hearing at all. "What happened while you were there?"

The scarlet femmling shook her head and shrugged. "Just what Dad told you," she answered, "I took out the 'cons, but if you ask me it was… serious overkill."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I just butchered 'em," Hunter croaked. A fearful look came to her optics and she shivered, sucking in a shuddering vent as she did so. "I took their energon, Greasy," she breathed, voice quavering. "I just ripped it right out of their bodies without hesitation or thinking. I couldn't stop myself. I tried but I couldn't! No matter how hard I tried I couldn't control myself."

"You mean you had no control of yourself at all?"

Hunter shook her head. "It was like my body had a friggin' mind of its own! I could see everything that was happening—I knew what I doing—but I wasn't telling myself to do _**any**_ of it! It was like I was trapped inside of a part of myself and I couldn't get out." Tears were in her optics now, trickling down her cheeks as she recalled the ordeal. She had never felt more terrified of herself in her life than she had when she'd been in the Primus-state. To see the things she could do—her powers could do—but to not be in control of herself, to not be able to stop what she was doing despite how much she tried… there wasn't even a word to describe the horror. How could anyone trust her after that? How could she trust _**herself**_ after that?

"What about Primus?" Greasy questioned.

Hunter shook her head. "I could feel him trying to reign me in," she admitted, "but he couldn't. There were a few times when he almost did but it was like I threw him out or… my body threw him out." The teen lifted a hand and covered her optics with it, frustrated by the whole thing. "It's hard to explain."

"It's all right, Hunter," Optimus assured her sympathetically.

But it wasn't all right. Greasy knew it. Hunter going into the Primus-state without trying; becoming extremely violent and committing acts that she otherwise wouldn't commit while in the Primus-state; neither she nor Primus being able to control the Primus-state—none of this was good. Either the Fuser or Primus had to have control over the Primus-state otherwise the Fuser was just a time-bomb while she was in it; a weapon. Virtually nothing would be able to stop her. And there were plenty of people out there who would stop at nothing to get their hands on a weapon that powerful. "I don't like this," the old Hybrid stated. "I don't like this at all."

"Greasy, you're not helping me calm down," Hunter grumbled.

"As well I shouldn't," Greasy snapped back. "This isn't good, Huntress, not by a long shot. This is exactly why I've been pushing you during out sessions to keep this sort of thing from happening! What happened to you today—what you did while in the Primus-state today—was just a glimpse of the power you possess. That was just a fraction of your power and you couldn't control it! What do you think it would be like if you really let loose during the Primus-state? When it that state you are connected to all of the cosmic power in the universe—every last bit of it; you could destroy an entire solar system if you wanted to! And from what you just told me, that possibility could be very real."

A heavy uncomfortable silence came over the room, forcing what Greasy has just said to sink in, and it sunk in to no one more deeply than it did Hunter. She could destroy a solar system? She had _**that**_ much power flowing through her when she was in the Primus-state?

"Whoa," Miko suddenly uttered, breaking the silence, "that's intense." She summed up what everyone else was thinking perfectly.

Much to everyone's relief, Ratchet came back into the room at that moment, a cube of liquefied energon in one hand and a barrel of the stuff in the other. "Here," the medic puffed, handing the barrel to Optimus. He went around and began to ready the energon drip.

Barrel of energon in hand, Optimus moved and positioned himself on the berth so he could slip an arm under his daughter and help her sit up. He raised the barrel to her lips. "Drink," he murmured.

Hunter blushed a bit, embarrassed by the fact that she was still too weak to even sit up by herself let alone hold a barrel on her own. She felt like a helpless sparkling! The teen almost refused to drink the energon in retaliation but then she really would have looked like a sparkling for pouting. Besides that would be counterproductive. The energon was supposed to help her get her strength back, so how would she be helping herself by refusing to drink any? Plus the energon smelled so good! Tilting her head forward, Hunter took a small sip of the liquid, only to be hit with an intense craving for it once the flavor exploded on her tongue. She began to take bigger, more vigorous gulps, chugging it, unable to get enough of the stuff. But she was forced to stop when she broke off into a coughing fit. Too much at once.

"Slowly," Optimus scolded, frowning his disapproval and pulling the barrel away from her. "Slowly." He held it to her lips again, only tipping it back far enough once she'd conceded.

While Optimus took care of that, Ratchet worked at the drip and got it hooked up to a line in Hunter's arm. It wasn't much longer before the teen had the strength to handle the barrel by herself. Her wounds were beginning to heal up much more quickly now as well and wasn't quite so painful. A sigh of relief escaped the teenager. That was much better!

Optimus smiled and nuzzled the crown of Hunter's helm, feeling her relief as well. He gently combed his large digits through his daughter's wires, straightening them out. Now they were getting somewhere. "Greasy," the Prime said after a moment, turning his attention back to the old Hybrid, "do you have an idea what could have caused the Primus-state to activate on its own?" All eyes and optics turned to Greasy, including Hunter's even as she continued to down her barrel of energon.

Greasy sighed heavily and scratched the back of his head, seeming to tip his ten-gallon hat styled headset as he did so. "Well," he uttered after a moment, "yes I do. I can't say officially, but it's a good bet that, if Hunter was trying to get to Rafael to save him from Starscream, the fear of losing someone she cares for along with the desperation to save them was what caused it to happen."

/_**So you don't think it was the fact that she was in the Agony Web and in pain that caused it?**_\\\ Bumblebee buzzed.

Greasy shook his head. "That might possibly have had something to do with it, but I seriously doubt it. I honestly believe it was the combination of fear and desperation that pushed Huntress over the edge."

"What makes you say that?" Ratchet inquired, running another scan on Hunter and checking her vital signs.

"The circumstances for one," Greasy answered. "For another, and probably the most likely reason, Huntress is much like her father was in terms of basic instincts."

"What does that mean?" Jack asked.

"When it comes down to the line, the top basic instinct of most people is to protect themselves," Greasy explained, "self-preservation. There's nothing wrong with it—it's perfectly normal. But Comet Thunder never had that, at least not to the great extent that most do. Even when he was no bigger than a bean sprout his first and foremost instinct was to protect those he cared for. Violently protective at times, particularly when something was in his way." Greasy turned his gaze back on Hunter and smiled a soft, almost reminiscent smile. "Huntress is the same way. In many regards she cares little for her own safety—and considering she has numerous lives that makes complete sense—but she cares greatly for the lives of her loved ones."

"That makes sense to," Hunter replied, setting down her empty barrel and wiping off her mouth. "My entire life I wanted a family and I looked so long for and fought so hard to have one." A look of sheer determination and fierce loyalty flashed into the youngling's optics as she added, "And I'm not about to lose a single member of it."

Greasy nodded. "It's true," he agreed. "Huntress places her family above everything, including herself. You've all witnessed that, first hand."

"When Hunt fought Bomber," Bulk concluded with a nod.

"Exactly," Greasy said with a nod of his own. "But at that time, Hunter wasn't bonded with Primus yet. Had she been, more than likely what happened today would have occurred then."

Hunter groaned. "So you're saying this is gonna happen _**every **_time the people I care about are in danger?"

"I would certainly hope not," Greasy grumbled, shaking his head. "If that were to happen we may very well have to figure out a way to separate you and Primus until you've gained better control. What I'm saying is that this happened under extremely dire circumstances. You were incapacitated and Rafael was very close to death."

"Yeah, can we _**not**_ talk about just how close to being eviscerated I was, please?" Raf squeaked, trying his hardest to forget about the situation. He wouldn't be able to sleep for a week.

"You feared losing him and were desperate to save him," Greasy went on, "that's why the Primus-state activated. You were trying to save your friend and the Primus-state made it possible." The old Hybrid sighed heavily and shook his head, optics closed. "I'm afraid at this current point the Primus-state is more a defensive mechanism than a state of being. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, Hunter," he assured the teen, patting her knee. "It simply means that you love your family and would do anything to protect them. It's the fact that you can't control yourself while you're in the Primus-state that worries me."

"Why is she unable to assume control, Greasy?" Optimus questioned.

"As I've stated already," the mech responded, "the Primus-state activated itself due to Hunter's basic instincts—fear of losing her family and the desire to protect it. Because it's activated on such pretenses the Primus-state turns into more of a "Primal-state"."

"Goes wild, you mean," Arcee surmised.

"Basically," Greasy nodded. "Hunter goes into a rage that next to nothing can control or contain—not even Primus himself. Her instincts take over and her body follows along."

"That explains the low energon levels," Ratchet mumbled, scratching the back of his helm, "and the weakness and fatigue."

"And the fact that she didn't heal," Greasy added. "All of her power goes into the Primus-state, even the power her healing ability uses."

"So essentially what you're saying is that I turn into an uncontrollable, enraged, cosmically powered, unstoppable monster," Hunter summed it all up glumly. "Fantastic. And just when I thought being the Fuser couldn't get any more fun."

"What do we do about this, Greasy?" Optimus questioned, giving Hunter a reassuring squeeze.

"Nothing," the Hybrid answered with a shrug. "Until Huntress learns to communicate with Primus so that they can truly become one being instead of two beings in the same body there's nothing we can do. Only when that connection has been made will both she and Primus have control of the Primus-state. Until then she's a loose cannon with it."

"I am sitting _**right here**_, ya know!" Hunter growled, glaring at her Hybrid mentor. Greasy could be so blunt he bordered on pure rudeness.

"The only thing we can possibly hope to do is keep Hunter out of situations like the one that happened today. Unfortunately we can't guarantee that." Greasy sighed heavily and met Hunter's eyes with a sorrowful gaze. "However," he went on, "there are some preventative measures I think we should take."

"Preventative measures to help keep me under control?" Hunter questioned hopefully. It would be really nice if they could do that—make her life and the lives of those around her so much easier. The teen really had no desire to be popping into the Primus-state whenever without any type of control. Control was nice. Especially when it was over herself.

Greasy shook his head, placing a gentle hand on her shoulderplating and giving it a light squeeze. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for that, Huntress," he informed her apologetically.

Hunter groaned in disappointment, slumping against her father's side and she looked down dejectedly. So much for that.

"I'm talking about measures we can take to help keep Hunter, as well as the rest of you, safe," Greasy clarified.

"Say what now?" Miko asked, looking totally confused.

"I don't think I need to tell you that there are a lot of bad people out there—human, Hybrid, Purebred alike," Greasy went on. "I also don't think I need to tell you that many of them would just love to get their hands on Huntress. With as powerful as she is already and as powerful as she can become Hunter is in almost every regard the perfect living weapon. And if she were to fall into the wrong hands…"

"Who knows the amount of damage someone could make me do," Hunter finished for him, voice barely above a disheartened mumble. This just got better and better as it went along. Why had Primus chosen her to play this role exactly?

Greasy nodded. "If someone were to find the key that triggered your Primus-state the results could be devastating," the old mech continued. "Not just for you, but for your family, your friends, everyone, and everything." He lifted a hand and gently cupped Hunter's cheekplate, making her look back up at him. "If they could control you, Huntress, they'd very nearly have the entire cosmos in the palm of their hand."

"What are you proposing, Greasy?" Optimus questioned, gaze on the old Hybrid severe. The Prime would do anything to help his spark-daughter—anything—but there were just certain bridges he was not willing to take at this point, and he wouldn't force Hunter to take them either.

"I think it would be best if we… changed the way today is remembered," Greasy answer hesitantly.

"You mean," Hunter said, understanding what Greasy was trying to put into words, "change out memories."

The old Hybrid pressed his lipplates together in a thin line and nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "Particularly yours, Hunter."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Bulkhead exclaimed, coming forward and waving his massive hands in the air. "Back up a minute here—you're saying that you have the power to go into somebody's head and just _**change**_ memories willy-nilly?" That was just a little bit to creepy for the ex-Wrecker's like. He didn't like the thought of people up in his cranium messing around with stuff. Some major damage could be done with that.

"Well, not willy-nilly," Greasy replied. "I'm not powerful enough to do it whenever I want, though there are some Hybrids who are, and I like to have the permission of whoever I do it on first. It makes it easier when they aren't as resisting."

"So you want all of us to forget how Hunter was able to go into the Primus-state," Jack stated, though it sounded a bit like a question.

"More than that," Greasy corrected. "I think it would be safer if the concept of Huntress going into the Primus-state at all was forgotten completely." He turned to look at the person in question as he said this, watching her expression and gaging it as best he could. So far Hunter had shown any signs of agreement or disagreement. And the only thing she showed right now was thoughtfulness and perhaps a little concern, but that was about it. If the femmling didn't go for this, Greasy didn't know what he'd do.

"So," Hunter uttered after a moment, still thinking it all over, "what you're saying is that you want to rewrite our memories of today completely? It'll be like I never even went into the Primus-state at all?"

Greasy nodded. "Hopefully I won't have to remove the whole memory, just the point where your Primus-state was activated, and then I'd put in a new one. That's how you would remember this day from now on."

Hunter became quiet again, once again turning it over and over in her head. "This will protect my family?"

"It's the best option," Greasy assured her. "If you can't remember ever going into the Primus-state or how you got there it will be harder for your enemies to take advantage of you and exploit you. They'd have no reason to hurt you and your friends if you really don't know how it works."

Hunter bit her lipplate and chewed on it, thinking it over some more. After some length, she looked up at her family and asked, "Guys?"

/_**Whatever you decide to do we're behind you, Hunt,**_\\\ 'Bee assured with a thumbs up. The others nodded and voice their own agreements.

Hunter then turned to her father to see what he thought of the whole idea. "Dad?"

Optimus met her sapphire blues and smiled reassuringly. "If Greasy believes this to be the best option to protect you," he responded, "then I believe we should listen to what he says. But it is your decision, Sweet-spark. I will support you whatever you decide."

Well, she had the votes. Looking down again, Hunter continued to put the whole concept through more consideration, weighing the pros and cons. She didn't like the idea of having someone screwing around in her head any more than Bulkhead did, but if it was the best option to protect her loved ones, how could she say 'no' to it? Finally the sixteen-year-old closed her optics and sighed heavily. "Let's do it."

Greasy nodded with a slight, relieved smile. "Good, girl," he praised her, patting her knee. "I should say before we start that I am not powerful enough to change all of your memories in one sitting. We'll have to do some of you now and then the rest at another date."

"How many of us can you change memories for right now?" Bulkhead questioned.

"Mmm…" Greasy did some quick calculations, "… aside from Hunter four others. Hunter's will take up most of my energy. Hybrid memories are not the easiest to alter and remove."

"Better change the kid's memories then," Arcee stated. "If this is about protection they get taken care of first. You, too, 'Bee," she told the young scout, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Younglings first."

/_**I'm not a youngling!**_\\\ Bumblebee retorted angrily. Then his glare softened and became a sheepish look as he tapped his index digits together and mumbled under his breath, /_**At least not much of one….**_\\\

"Aww!" Miko exclaimed in sheer disappointment. "You mean I'm not gonna get to remember any of the epicness that happened today? This sucks!" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted dejectedly.

"Safety first, Miko," Bulkhead reminded her.

"Will this harm them, Greasy?" Ratchet questioned.

The old Hybrid grinned brightly and shook his head. "Not in the least bit," he assured the medic. "They might feel a little light headed and tired after it's all said and done, but that's about it. And the fact that they're agreeing to it willingly will cut down on the stress quite a bit. The main concern is what memories I'm going to put back into their heads after I take out the originals." Greasy turned back to look at Hunter. "Huntress, considering you're the reason we're doing this, I think it's only fair you decide what the memories should be."

At that a small smile creased Hunter's face. "Well, I don't know for sure what all you can make up, Greasy," she replied, then looked up at her father lovingly, "but I'd like to remember Dad coming to the rescue." She snuggled closer to Optimus' side and rested her head on his shoulder causing the Prime to return her affections.

"Who'd've guessed that?" Miko whispered to Jack.

Greasy chuckled. "We'll have to see what I can find to work with once I get in there, but I think that should be easy enough." He then took Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee into his gaze and looked at them severely. "Be warned," he told them, "you four will have to help play this façade up as well. Until I can change the rest of your memories along with the young ones' you'll have to pretend as if none of this ever happened. This is crucial. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Greasy," all 'bots replied. At least all 'bots except a certain Prime.

Greasy turned and gave the young mech a cold glare. "Optimus?"

The Prime sighed heavily and nodded reluctantly. "I understand, Greasy," he assured the Hybrid. "It's just… I do not enjoy the concept of lying," his gaze suddenly fell to Hunter, "especially if I am to be lying to my daughter."

Hunter smiled, touched by how much he valued her trust. The femmling squeezed his large hand that was intertwined with her considerably smaller one and cuddled even closer, sending out a reassuring sensation through their link to his spark. "Daddy," she murmured gently, lovingly, "it's okay. You're lying to me to protect me and it won't be for very long. You have my permission."

Optimus smiled, some of the dreaded weight lifting off his shoulders now that he had her permission. Yet again he just couldn't understand what he had done to deserve the most loving, understanding, loyal, and trustworthy femmling for a daughter. Whatever it had been he was most thankful for it. The mech pressed his lips to Hunter's helm in a soft kiss.

"All right then," Greasy sighed, wringing out his fingers and arms. "I ask that those of you who I'm not altering memories for leave the room and don't come in until I'm finished. It will be easier that way."

"Remember," Hunter murmured to Optimus as he got up to leave, "I pre-forgive your lying."

Optimus chuckled and smiled at her over his shoulderplating as he, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee all exited the med-bay and closed the doors.

"Children, Bumblebee," Greasy addressed them as he took them into his gaze, "lay down on the floor, please, and try to relax." He turned to Hunter. "You too, Huntress." The younglings all did as they were told. Once they were all prone and as relaxed as they could get, Greasy slowly made his way around each of them, telling them to stare into his optics for a period before tapping them on the forehead, rendering them unconscious. He started with Miko first, then moved to Raf, then Jack, then Bumblebee, before finally making his way over to the berth where Hunter lay. The old mech sighed and smiled down at her. "Ready?"

Hunter smirked confidently back at him and nodded. "Let's do this."

"Okay then. You know the drill by now—gaze into my optics. Deeper—that's a girl—now hold it." After a moment or two, Greasy touched the center of Hunter's forehead and the sixteen-year-old easily fell into a deep sleep, just as the others had done. Now came the work. Placing a loving hand on the sleeping teen's helm, Greasy looked down at her sadly and shook his head with a heavy, mournful sigh. "I'm so sorry, little one," he murmured, regret heavy in his aged voice. "I'd give anything to not have to do this to you." He stroked her cheekplate. "Not again."

* * *

An hour passed. Then two. The Autobots were starting to get a little bit nervous about what was going on in the lab, wondering if this had really been that great idea after all. Altering memories? It sounded sort of risky. After an eternity the doors to the lab finally opened and Greasy came out, looking the slightest bit worse for wear and now surprise. It probably wasn't easy to take away and put back prefabricated memories and Greasy wasn't exactly the most powerful Hybrid around. The 'bots all came rushing forward and surrounded him, gazing at him expectantly.

Sighing, Greasy declared, "It's done." He swayed a bit and Optimus caught him by the arm, helping him to stand. "Thank you, son," Greasy slurred with a nod.

"The younglings…" Ratchet started.

"Are all fine," Greasy assured them all. "As I said before they may feel a little bit woozy, but other than that they'll be just fine."

"What of their memories?" Optimus asked.

Greasy tapped his headset. "There's a reason my helm is as big as it is," he stated. "I have them all stored in here. The Hybrid council has a Hall of Memories that was created for situations just like this. Once I'm completely finished here I'll go there, have the memories extracted and they'll be put into archives and stored away."

"You mean you can't just destroy them?" Arcee inquired.

The old Hybrid slowly shook his head. "Memories can't be destroyed," he explained. "They can be forgotten, suppressed, removed, changed, but never destroyed." He motioned into the lab. "You can all go in now if you wish."

That was all the team needed to hear. All but completely shoving their way through the doors, they all came back into the lab to see their companions and teammates still asleep.

"Bumblebee, Jack, Miko, Raf, rise," Greasy ordered. Still asleep, the young mech and the children all rose to their feet at once—it was rather eerie but also fascinating to watch. Once they were standing, the old Hybrid turned to the others. "You should all probably take your places." Once everyone was in position, he snapped his fingers. Three set of eyes and one set of optics all opened instantaneously, bright and alert just as though nothing had happened.

"Hunter's gonna be okay, right Ratchet?" Jack was the first to speak.

Ratchet was a bit caught off guard, not at all ready to be answering any questions right off the bat, but after floundering about for a moment he got into the roll. "Uh—er—um, yes, Jack," he answered. "The Agony Web put Hunter's circuits through a bit of a fry, but with some rest she should be fine."

That was when a groan left the femmling in question. All eyes and optics turned to Hunter to find her stirring on the medical berth, starting to wake up. Slowly her sapphire blue optics twittered open and she looked around hazily, trying to make sense of the world around her. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being wrapped up in the Agony Web and being electrocuted by it. Had she passed out? Was she on the Nemesis now? What had happened? Where was everyone?

"Hunter?" a deep, warm, familiar voice softly murmured.

Hunter's gaze traveled in the direction the voice had come from and she focused in there. She had to blink a few times to get her vision back in order and once it was she was greeted with a loving and beloved face full of concern. The femmling slightly smiled. "Daddy," she rasped.

Smiling back, Opitmus sat down beside her and stroked her forehead. "Shh, Sweet-spark," he soothed her. "I'm here. Daddy is right here."

"What happened?" Hunter croaked.

"What is the last thing you remember, Hunter?" Optimus questioned. He needed a better idea of how Greasy had made this play out. They all did.

Hunter was quiet for a minute and carefully thought over exactly what she remembered happening. "Starscream had me trapped in this thing called an Agony Web," she slowly recalled. "It hurt real bad and was electrocuting me and getting tighter and hotter every time I moved. Then 'Scream walked over and picked up Raf. He was gonna kill him. We were all trying to get to him, but we couldn't. I was closest but each time I moved the Agony Web got more and more painful and..." She looked up at her spark-father. "And that's the last thing I remember. What happened after that?"

Biting back his guilt and swallowing hard, Optimus prepared to lie to his daughter—his only child—for the first time. He didn't like it. He didn't want to do it. But it had to be done, for her safety and for everyone else's. "I was out on patrol when I felt your pain," the Prime began, deciding that if he kept the lie as close to the truth as possible it wouldn't hurt as badly. "I contacted Ratchet and he told me that you and the team were out mining energon. Then he discovered that the Decepticons had appeared on the site as well, so I had him bridge me back to base and then to the mine. When I arrived…" and here came the lie, "… you were unconscious on the floor, still encased in the web and Starscream was still in possession of Rafael."

"Optimus saved me," Raf suddenly cut in. "Then he helped get the rest of the team free."

"Once we were all on our feet we took out the rest of the 'cons," Bulkhead continued on, "and Starscream ran like the coward he is."

Hunter snorted. "Figures."

"You missed the whole thing, Hunt!" Miko exclaimed, looking as excited and hyped up as ever. "It was all _**bam!, pow!, crash!**_ And Arcee was like _**slice!, dice!, **_'Take that!' And Bulk was going _**bang!, boom!, **_'Not today, Decepti-creeps!' And 'Bee…"

"Okay, thank you, Miko," Jack laughed awkwardly, coming over and covering her mouth with a hand. "I think she gets the picture."

Giggling at the exchange of her friends, Hunter turned her gaze back to her father. "Well," she sighed with a smirk, "looks like you saved the day and me again." She chuckled. "What else is new?"

Chuckling, Optimus stroked her cheekplate with the back of his digits. "Well, I am your father," he commented. He leaned down until his faceplate was just inches from hers and cooed, "And it is a father's duty to save his little girl, is it not?" The Prime nuzzled the young Hybrid and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a warm embrace.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hunter nuzzled into the Autobot's neck, sighing contentedly. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered.

Stroking her backplate, the Prime smiled. "I love you, My Shooting Star," he returned. "More than anything. Never forget that."

Hunter giggled. "I think it'd be pretty hard."

Everyone else watched on with warm smiles, moved by the touching scene between Team Prime's father-daughter duo. Well, everyone except Miko. Face twisting up in disgust, the Japanese teen stuck out her tongue. "Blech! Mushy stuff," she complained. "Gross."

Pulling away from her spark-father, Hunter turned a glare on the other girl, an unamused look on her faceplate. Optimus, too, turned in Miko's direction, not looking any more pleased that his daughter. "Miko," Hunter growled, "take it and shove it." Optimus joined her in saying the last part and the two turned to look at each other again, Hunter's optics wide with surprise, her jaw dropped. Had Optimus seriously just quoted her catchphrase along with her?! Both father and daughter burst out laughing, pulling each other into another hug.

"Okay, seriously, guys," Miko griped. "The mushy stuff—enough, please!"

* * *

**Confession #19:**

** I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but the Agony Web is actually inspired by a thing called the "Agony Matrix" that the DC warlord Darkseid uses. Yup. It's actually pretty intense. *snorts* He uses it to pin down Superman and it WORKS, so you can only imagine!**

**Confession #20:**

** Oh, come on, Miko! We all know you have a mushy bone somewhere in your body! Just admit it!**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	7. Changes

***sighs* I seriously need to stop making promises for upcoming chapters, because more often than not they don't follow throw even when I intend the to. *stands against back wall of small room and stands with arms outstretched* Go ahead and fire away for not coming through on the action in this chapter that I said would happen. I won't even make any excuses as to why it didn't happen. From now on, no more promising things in future chapters until the chapter is actually posted up! *slaps self***

**We do get to meet a few new and significant people in this chapter though. Points there. Wolfie, you'll probably recognize some startlingly familiar characteristics in one.**

**WolfAssassin396—Greasy, care to answer?**

**Greasy: They will find out in due time.**

**Oh-kay then.**

**Alice Gone Madd—*whistles* There are lots of Hybrid weapons out there—lots I don't even know about yet. We'll probably never see them all.**

**AllSpark Princess—I guess we'll just have to see.**

**SunnySides—Yes I have seen the Iron Giant a few times. It was cute but I can't say I like it enough to actually write fanfiction for it. Sorry. **

**And I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever heard of somebody referring to Starscream as an anorexic bunny. Huh.**

**Gabby M—Mmm, I'm gonna give 'Screamer enough credit to say that he has learned something from this encounter, but I don't think it's to approach Hunter differently. I think it's a lesson of "don't screw with the Fuser's family".**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"Change… open your eyes to the light…" Evanesence; _My Heart is Broken_

7

Ω Abeo Ω

(Changes)

Greasy sprinted as fast as his short legs could carry him down the long corridor, not taking the time to stop and open the several sets of large doors that stood in the way and simply teleporting past them to the other side. Whatever the council had called him here for it had better be for a good reason for waking him up in the dead of night. Especially when he had to teach tomorrow! Then again of course the council never did this without a good reason, so whatever he was here for had to be pretty important. Coming up on the last door the old Hybrid teleported past it and into the large council room on the other side. Apart from two guards standing on either side of the door, there six people there: Councilmen Genesis, Nebula, and Ananias, and Councilwomen Delta, Eden, and Rose, the heads of the Hybrid Council. Panting heavily, Greasy nearly collapsed to the floor. He was getting too old to be running around like that! "I…" he wheezed, "… was summoned?" He doubled over, puffing hard, trying to get his breath back.

"Yes, Greasy," Councilwoman Rose replied, coming over to the elderly man. "Would you like to sit down? Have something to drink?" Rose was always like that; kindhearted and motherly—always thinking of others.

"Yes," Greasy managed to get out. "And water, please."

Councilman Ananias, President of the six council members, turned and nodded to one of the guards. The guard nodded back and turned away, exiting the room to go retrieve a glass of water. In the meantime, Rose helped Greasy to a chair. A minute or two later, Greasy was sipping at a glass of water and his sparkbeat was coming back to normal, his breath returning. "Now," he sighed after a moment, "can someone please tell me what all the hullabaloo is about?"

"Greasy," Councilwoman Eden replied, face grave and long, "you know that we would never summon you at this hour if it weren't for dire circumstances."

"What's happened?" Greasy questioned, his mind suddenly leaving the water.

"The crew at Epsilon outpost was supposed to call for their annual report two days ago," Councilman Genesis answered, folding his hands behind his back. "They never made the call."

Greasy froze, his stomach twisting around in anxiousness. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. First Hunter not being able to control the Primus-state and now Epsilon not checking in—the bad news just loved to come in waves. "Have we tried contacting them?" he inquired.

"We have," Concilwoman Delta replied. "Many times in fact, but all we've received so far is static. At first we thought that maybe they were having some technical issues that they were trying to fix and then they would call in. That hasn't happened."

"Are you saying something's happened out there?" Greasy prodded.

"It's possible," Councilman Nebula nodded. "It's also possible that they're having trouble fixing whatever technical issue they're having. We don't know."

"You don't think it's…" Greasy's voice dropped off as he was unable to finish what he was about to say. It was too terrifying to even think about.

He didn't need to finish. The others all understood completely what he was trying to say and they all exchanged uncertain looks. "At this point," Genesis sighed, "we're not ruling anything out. Hopefully it isn't. But if it is we can undoubtedly expect to have a world-class battle on our hands. And soon."

"Mmm," Ananias, who had kept quiet and been stroking his beard the hold time, hummed with an agreeing nod. "It's a good thing we have a realized Fuser on our side now."

"Yes," Greasy agreed a bit glumly. "A realized and greatly unprepared Fuser." Standing up from his chair he walked over to one of the large windows and gazed out it into the distance. "At this point in her training Hunter would never be able to even hope to survive an encounter with Luna. The only way Huntress would be able to defeat Luna now is if she were to have control of the Primus-state and she doesn't have that." The old Hybrid hung his head sadly and shook it. "She wasn't ready the first time," he murmured, "and I refuse to allow her to lock horns with Luna unprepared a second go round."

"Greasy," Ananias stated, voice hard and cold as ever, "if it _**is**_ Luna we're dealing with here, we don't have a choice." Just as Rose was kindhearted, Ananias was harsh, cold, and calculating. That was part of the reason he'd been voted as the President of the council; he wasn't afraid to make the tough choices. He also rarely stopped to think of the repercussions his choices could possess. Throwing Hunter into a battle against a sorceress who very nearly rivaled her power was one of those choices.

"For Hunter's sake," Greasy said, almost to himself, "I hope it isn't Luna we're going up against here."

"Greasy," Nebula cut back in, "due to all of the uncertainty clouding this issue we were planning on sending someone out to Mars to see exactly what's going on. We were wondering, since you were the head of the outpost project, if you would like to take on the task."

"I don't know how to fly a ship," Greasy responded, turning around to face the council member's again, "and I don't have one either."

"That wouldn't be an issue," Delta assured him. "The Epsilon crew was up for shift change in two weeks. We'll send you out with the next crew and then you can return on that ship when you've discovered the problem."

"How much time do I have before I leave?"

"Not much," Eden replied. "You'll have to leave today. You have just enough time to pack whatever belongings you think you'll need."

"Right then," Greasy sighed. "I'd better get started. I have a few calls to make as well."

With that the group all bid farewell. Rose knelt down to Greasy's height and clasped his hands between hers, smiling encouragingly into the old, shining eyes. "Good luck, Greasy," she said. "Safe travels and Godspeed."

Greasy smiled back and nodded before turning around and exiting through the opened doors. Once they had closed behind him his shoulders slumped and he sighed heavily. This was going to be a _**long**_ day.

* * *

Watkins Mountain Range—Greenland;

It was a strange sight to behold. The New Moon was descending the sky through a blizzard, coming upon a valley between the mountain peaks. There was nothing but snow beneath them; endless white expanses of snow and ice that were only broken by the mountain ridges. And then without warning a pocket seemed to open up, revealing acres of emerald green grass, trees, and several buildings, the biggest of them being the castle of a mansion located in the center of the compound that everything faced and converged at. The Celestial Estate. Slowly the ship descended down into the green oasis and touched down, resting on the surface of the Earth for the first time in five long years. As soon as it had settle the dome was immediately raised again, shielding the estate from the harsh elements. The balmy, 80˚ climate of the dome set in once again, quickly melting the snow that had accumulated.

After a moment the ramp at the underbelly of the New Moon hissed open and lowered to rest on the ground. Hybrids, at least 800 of them, came filing out of the buildings and lined up on either side of the ramp, three deep, forming ranks of color and dress. They all stood at attention, waiting. Finally there was movement up on the ramp and down it came the inhabitants of the New Moon; Luna and Ray at the head of it, followed closely by an attractive but very grim-faced golden-haired young man, Luna's inner circle of acolytes—a dozen strong—and then the rest of the crew, some 200 of them. Arm-in-arm, Luna and Ray emerged with beaming smiles happy to finally be home. Luna waved as a roar of applause rose up from the crowd below them, her grin growing even larger, if that was even possible. A little over half-way down the ramp, she and Ray paused, still arm-in-arm and she addressed the crowd in person for the first time in years, some of them for the first time ever. "My loyal subjects," she announced amicably and triumphantly at once, "this is a day of celebration! You're mistress has finally returned." A huge round of applause went up from the 800. Luna raised a hand to stop it, producing results almost instantly, and went on to say, "However, as much as I would love to spend the day becoming reacquainted with Earth and all of you…"

"And natural gravity," Ray added, ever the jokester in these situation.

A chuckle went through the crowd.

"Yes," Luna laughed smiling at her husband, "and natural gravity, we don't have time for such luxuries. There is much work that has to be done, and the sooner we finish it the sooner we can achieve our goal. Who is with me?"

The crowd cheered.

Letting go of his wife, Ray put his hands up and cupped them around his ears. "I can't hear you!" he bellowed.

The crowd cheered again.

"What?!" Ray shouted.

A deafening roar went up from the crowd that time.

Laughing, Luna and Ray linked their arms again and the procession continued on down the ramp continuing to be cheered on. When they reached the bottom, they walked up to a tall woman dressed in armor. "Dusk," Luna addressed her with a nod.

"My lady," Dusk replied with a bow.

"The prisoner," Luna said, "how is he?"

"Miserable," Dusk answered, "but very much alive. He hasn't attempted an escape in the last three years."

"Good," Luna said with a dark smile. "That means he's been broken. Perhaps he'll talk now."

"We've interrogated him every day," Dusk assured her mistress, "he still refuses to speak."

Luna chuckled. "Well, that's because you're you, Darling," she purred a bit patronizingly. "And you use force. Situations such as this require a bit more of a… delicate touch." With that the woman called, "Steel."

The young man standing quietly behind them came forward. "Yes, Grandmother?"

Luna put a hand on Steel's shoulder and smiled at him. "Would you be so kind as to go with Commander Dusk here and help prepare the prisoner for my arrival?"

Face as straight and grim as ever, ice blue eyes distant. "Yes, Grandmother," he replied almost monotonously.

Luna smiled lovingly and stroked his cheek. "My darling boy," he cooed, "I can count on you for anything."

A smile curled Steel's lips but it was strained, fake as can be. With that he turned away and followed after Dusk.

Luna then turned towards the closest group of acolytes on her right, all of them garbed in armor as well. "Nox," she said.

A large man stepped out from the group and knelt before her. "Yes, my Lady?"

"Have you discovered the information I've requested?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"And?"

"The girl will be attending Olympus High today. Very few of the students and—surprisingly—the staff there possess adequate knowledge in terms of battle, so she will be unguarded and virtually without backup."

"Excellent," Luna replied. "Assemble your team; take everyone; head out as soon as possible. The sooner we have her in our possession the sooner our plans can be carried out."

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

_**Bree! Bree! Bree! Bree!**_

Hunter lifted a fist and slammed it down atop her Autobot-sized alarm clock, successfully shutting it up. Sighing, she slipped back under her thermal tarp, pulling it up over her hood. She'd barely relaxed again when she felt something gently grabbing her shoulder and shaking her. She moaned.

"Hunter…."

The teen pulled her warm tarp closer, refusing to come out.

"Hunter…."

She made a growl.

"Hunter, Sweet-spark…."

"Hunter isn't here," the femmling mumbled. "This is Filbert."

"Hmm. Well that certainly is peculiar. If you don't mind my saying so, Filbert, you sound an awful lot like my spark-daughter Hunter."

"Yeah. I get that a lot."

Optimus chuckled and seated himself on the edge of the berth, pulling back the edge of the tarp so that he could see he's daughter's faceplate. "You look much like her as well," he commented.

"Thank you," Hunter replied, not opening her optics but a small smile creasing her lips. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Snorting, the Prime rolled his optics and pulled the tarp back a bit more so that Hunter whined and shrunk away to keep underneath it. "Hunter," he sighed, "Love, it is time to rise."

"But it's not 7:30 yet," the young Hybrid pouted. Grabbing her tarp she pulled it back up over her head to form her cocoon once again. School started at 8:15—she didn't have to get up until 7:30; that was the deal. Heck, if it wasn't for the fact that she loved long showers, she probably could sleep in till eight if she wanted to!

"I know," Optimus replied, pulling the tarp back again, "but I just received a call from Greasy a few minutes ago. He would like you to be there early; he wants to talk to you."

"What about?" Hunter muttered.

"He didn't say."

"It can't wait till lunch?"

"Evidently not," Optimus replied shaking his head. "He wants to see you before classes start—there is no other time for you do see him. It sounded fairly urgent."

Hunter took a deep vent and let it go in a soft sob, knowing that she couldn't win. Nobody told Greasy 'no' and nobody kept him waiting. The femmling hugged her stuffed wolf closer. "I'm sorry, Blue," she whimpered to him. "I don't wanna leave you, but I have to."

Chuckling, Optimus pulled the blue tarp all the way back and rubbed his child's backplate, trying to stimulate her to finally make the transition from laying down to getting up for the day. "Come on, little one," he encouraged her. "Up."

Half groaning, half growling, Hunter slowly sat up, optics still screwed shut with sleep. Yawning, she rubbed them, finally getting them to open. "Remind me to kill Greasy for this later," she grumbled.

The Prime chuckled and stood, kissing her head. "Shower, dress, breakfast," he laid out the morning routine for her, exiting the room. "Roll out."

Hunter glared blearily after him. "You just killed your one catchphrase," she called after him, voice croaking, "ya know that, right?"

* * *

It was a quarter to eight by the time Hunter exited the ground-bridge at the bottom of the steps of Olympus High, or at least it was in the Nevada time-zone. Here in Greece it was a quarter to three in the morning, but you would never be able to tell. Shielded and hidden the world by an invisible dome, the school and its grounds were always lit to the point of mid-day, making it possible for school to carry on like any other normal school. "Normal school"—'normal' wasn't even in the vocabulary at Olympus High. When your entire student body and staff were made up of alien beings with superpowers that were half organic and half machine how the heck could you possibly be considered a "normal school"?

For a moment Hunter stood staring up at the towering mountain, unable to stop herself from being amazed. The fact that the Hybrids had carved out a school into this monolith as an impressive feat, no matter how much she hated coming here. Sighing, the teen began to climb the steps towards the front doors just as some of the others students were doing. If Greasy wanted to talk to her, she'd better get there. Just then Hunter froze with a small gasp, remembering something important. Her Greek paper! She hadn't finished her Greek paper! And there was no possible way she could finish it by the time class came around! "Scrud!" The facepalmed. Well, that settled it—she was in trouble. And the Greek teacher wasn't one of the teachers she could flash her title in front of to get some leniency. Not that she ever did that… much…..

* * *

Coming up on the history room door, Hunter found it already slightly opened. The sixteen-year-old's stomach slightly flip-flopped in anxiousness, wondering what all of this was about. It wasn't normal of Greasy to call her in to see him early. Usually if he needed to speak to her he caught her when she came to school or during or lunch of sometimes even after school for a few minutes, but he never called her in for it. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, the girl pulled the door open a bit more and stuck her head into the room. Two people were there; Greasy along with another man. The other man was a lot younger than Greasy was, almost looking to be the same age as Optimus was, though much less weathered and battle-worn, and a lot taller—about her height—with more muscle. This guy looked like he could be handy in a battle if you needed him. Not that Greasy wasn't handy it was just that… well… he usually tried to stay out of fights at his age… and height.

Both men were up by Greasy's desk, discussing something quietly. Ears pricking to the sound of the slight creak of the door hinges, the old Hybrid looked around the man towards the door and smiled. "Ah, Huntress!" he exclaimed. "Come on in—close the door on the way will you?"

Hunter did just that, looking between her Hybrid mentor and this new gentlemen with some confusion. What was going on here? "Uh… you wanted to see me, Prof. Coggs?" she asked, slipping into the school formalities."

"Yes," Greasy replied with a nod. "I did. My dear, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Atlas Bartholomew. Doctor, I would like you to meet Huntress Starstreaker James, the Fuser."

Hunter smiled up at the tall man and extended her hand towards him. "Pleased to meet you, Dr. Bartholomew," she greeted him.

Smiling back in such a way that even his hazel eyes sparkled with friendliness behind his glasses. "Well, hello, Hunter," he greeted her back with a voice that seemed to race a mile a minute. Even his hand-shake was face and forceful. "I must say it is a great pleasure to meet you—a great pleasure." His grin only seemed to grow larger in his clean-shaven face.

"Uh…" Hunter stuttered, trying to absorb and understand all of those words, "… thanks." Letting go of the Doctor's hand she turned to look at Greasy. "What is this about?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Greasy sighed, smile dropping, "you see, Hunter, the Hybrid Council has given me a mission."

"_**You**_?!" Hunter laughed in amazement.

"Yes," Greasy said, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a scolding look, suddenly becoming defensive, "is it so hard to believe something like that?"

"Like, nearly impossible," Hunter replied, with a smirk, resting a hand on a cocked hip.

"You're a riot," Greasy grumbled causing the girl to giggle. "Yes, I am going on a mission, and I will not be back for several weeks. In that time Dr. Bartholomew here will be teaching my class as well as taking over out training sessions."

Hunter froze. Had she heard that right? Greasy was handing over her Hybrid training to some motor-mouthed stranger that she'd only just met? She had to have misheard that! "Say what now?"

"Dr. Bartholomew will institute your training while I am gone," Greasy repeated a bit more slowly this time just to make sure she understood.

Everything seemed to come to a screeching halt as terror began to sink into Hunter's systems. This wasn't good. This wasn't good! Greasy was her Hybrid mentor—not this guy! Up to this point Greasy had taught her almost everything about being a Hybrid and being the Fuser. Plus he was the last connection she had to her parents! What if he went on this mission and something happened and he didn't come back? Where would she be then? Not only was he her Hybrid mentor and last connection to her parents but he was part of her family; someone she loved dearly and would fight to the death for if she had to. The girl couldn't bear the thought of losing him—she'd be completely lost without him! Lost in more ways than one. And this… Bartholomew dude, what the heck did he know about her and her life and her family and… just who the heck was he anyway?! Hunter internally screamed. "You're kiddin' me," she said, "right?"

"No, Huntress," Greasy responded, straight-faced as ever and shaking his head, "I'm not."

"But… but… but you have to be!" Hunter blurted before she could stop herself. "Greasy _**you're**_ my mentor! You've been my Hybrid mentor from day one! I want _**you**_ to train me not this… random, doctor dude—no offense," she added, turning to smile sheepishly at Atlas.

"None taken," the man quickly assured her with a nod.

"Hunter, I don't exactly have a choice," Greasy said, trying to keep calm and keep from losing his patience. Yelling at the girl would only make her even more upset and cause things to escalate. "Believe me, if I could say 'no' to this, I would, but I can't. My hands are tied; this is how it has to be."

"But… but… ugh!" Hunter crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back on the men, biting her lip to keep herself from saying something she'd regret. A few tears stung at her eyes but she blinked them back. She'd never felt so betrayed before and it was stupid to feel so. If Greasy said he couldn't do anything about it then he couldn't do anything about it—he wouldn't just leave her hanging if he could help it. Still it hurt. It hurt worse than she'd ever imagined it could.

"Ms. James," Dr. Bartholomew said quietly, causing the girl to glance at him over her shoulder, "I understand that you are upset by this," his voice was a bit slower now, "and I don't blame you in the least, but for what it's worth, I have been studying and training for this for a long time—even under Greasy for much of it. I know I won't be quite like Greasy when it comes to certain aspects in your training, but I am more than willing to help you in whatever way that I can. I want to help you reach your full potential, even if it is only for a short while. I'm willing to give this a shot if you are."

Hunter was quiet for a long time, just staring up into the face that was so full of heartfelt sincerity it almost broke her spark. His quirkiness aside, Bartholomew seemed to be a decent guy—even she in all her anger could see that. The situation before them couldn't be helped and was awkward enough for all of them as it was. Wasn't not only the right thing, but fair thing to do and just give this guy a shot? It wasn't like it was forever, right? Finally the teen closed her eyes and sighed heavily, nodding her head. "All right," she finally conceded. "I don't like this, but all right—I'll give it a shot." With that she extended her hand once again and the two of them shook on it.

* * *

With five minutes to the first bell, Hunter headed in the direction of her locker still feeling the slightest bit betrayed by Greasy. She tried to stop herself, telling herself it was ridiculous and petty to feel that way, but she just couldn't seem to help it. Greasy was leaving her without almost no heads up at all. And he was leaving her with some stranger to help carry on her training as he did so. "Whatever mission the Council's got him on," the girl muttered to herself as she sulked down the hallway to her locker, "it had better be pretty friggin' important." Coming up on her locker Hunter slipped her bag off and set it on the floor before turning the dial for her combination. 20… 13… 48—the black door opened. Sighing, the sixteen-year-old set to work at loading up her bag for the morning, since this would be the only time she visited her locker before lunch again. With classes spaced out on all levels of the school she wouldn't have time to be running back and forth to her locker all the time. Not even hyperspeed would be able to get her to class on time with a system like that.

"Where you think you're goin', small fry?"

Hunter froze and straightened up, attention immediately grabbed by the jeer. Turning away from her locker, the redhead looked farther down the hall to see two guys crowding in on someone who was significantly smaller than they were. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, a growl rumbling quietly in her chest. Bullies! She absolutely hated bullies! Leaving her locker, the Fuser strode on down the hall towards the confrontation.

As Hunter got closer she got a better look at the boys' victim; it was a girl, a little bit taller than 5' with a slim build and caramel skin. Hunter could only catch glimpses of the girl's face as she kept her head down and only every now and again peeked up from underneath a mass of curly, poofy, shoulder-length black hair, but from those glimpses, Hunter could see fear and pain. Her spark went out to the girl. This couldn't be more than thirteen-years-old. (It wasn't uncommon for Olympus High to accept students that young if they were advanced enough.) She had to be terrified; these guys were huge, at least four inches taller than Hunter was! Poor kid.

"Please just leave me alone," the child pleaded meekly, a Canadian accent in her voice.

"Well maybe we would if you hadn't crossed us," one of the boys replied sparklessly.

"But I didn't do anything," the girl retorted.

"You callin' us a liar, small fry?" the other boy challenged.

"N-no," the girl squeaked.

"N-no," the boy who made the accusation mocked her and both he and his buddy laughed. "You got a speech impediment or somethin', small fry?"

"N-no."

"Yo, Max, I think she does," the boy on the left commented, nudging his buddy in the side with an elbow.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Levi," Max laughed with a nod. "Aren't you a little young to be here, small fry?"

"I-I-I…" "Small Fry" stuttered, but she was too scared to get anything else out.

Once again Max and Levi laughed and mocked her, poking at her as they did so and going so far as to tug on her hair. They even smacked the books she was carrying out of her arms and onto the floor. "Hey," Levi laughed after a moment, "what's the weather like up der in, uh, Canada eh?" His voice had slipped into a heavily stereotypical Canadian accent now.

"Yeah!" Max joined in. "And, uh, what aboot all dem mooses, eh? You got a lotta mooses up der, eh?"

"It's 'moose', lame-brain, plural or singular," a strong voice with a biting tone broke into the conversation.

Both boys stopped what they were doing and slowly turned around to see a seriously ticked off looking Hunter standing there, arms crossed over her chest. "Small Fry" peeked out between them, too. Her eyes slightly widened and she released a small gasp. "Excuse me?" Max asked, sounding rather indignant.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hunter replied, putting a hand on her chest and feigning an apologetic look and innocent tone, "for a second there I forgot I was in the presence of two block-headed morons who clearly don't understand the English language." Her voice had dropped back to an angry, forceful tone now. "I mean, seriously, come on, guys—I know I don't speak proper English all the time but at least I make a conscious effort!"

Both boys turned on her, arms crossed and their own ticked off expressions shadowing their faces. "Look, _**Red**_," Levi growled, "I don't care if you're the Fuser or not—we ain't about to get lectured by some punk-ass little ginger like you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't come here to give an English lecture in the hallway either," Hunter retorted. "So it looks like we're all up a creek without a paddle."

"Small Fry" smiled ever so slightly and giggled.

Max stood there with a blank face, looking like he was trying to figure something out. "Okay, hold up, I'm confused," he confessed after a minute. "Are… are we talkin' 'bout lectures here or some type of creek?"

Hunter snorted and rolled her sapphire blue eyes. "Okay, wow," she chuckled, "and I thought Eradicons were brainless." Seriously, these two made the Steves look like rocket-scientists! Laughing, Hunter pointed at the boys and remarked, "You two: seriously not Hybrid kind's best example! Am I right?"

Levi was fuming—face red, veins popping out on his forehead and neck, and steam very nearly coming out his ears. "Okay, that's it," he growled. "I've had it." He started to shuck off his black cardigan.

"Ooh!" Hunter exclaimed, brows furrowing. "Takin' off the cardigan—we are definitely getting serious now." Smiling coyly, the sixteen-year-old rested a hand on a cocked hip made cutesy cross of her legs, the toe of her right flat perched on the floor. She didn't look the least bit concerned.

Ripping his sweater off his wrists, Levi threw it on the ground, looking like he was about ready to tear her head off.

Hunter laughed, eyes on his bared teeth. "Dude, what, are you gonna lunge for my throat like a wolf or something?" Oh, this just kept getting better and better!

With that Levi released an animalistic roar and charged her. "Rrrraaaahhhh!"

Hunter didn't even flinch, a smirk curling her lips the only movement she made. All she had to do was wait until he was close enough and…. Suddenly Levi wasn't on the ground anymore. He was suspended in mid-air, being held up well off the floor by the front of his silver dress-shirt. His enraged expression quickly changed to one of confusion, then to bemusement. He stared down at the girl who held him in his grasp. Smiling, Hunter winked up at him, before turning away and carrying him down the hall a bit. Choosing a locker a fair distance away, the redhead changed her grip on her captive so that she was holding him by the back of his shirt and the back belt loop of his pants. With that she threw him forward like a battering ram. She threw him with such force that his head actually went through the locker door and he was stuck there.

Screaming, Levi started trying to pull himself out and banging on the lockers with his hands to try and gain somebody's attention. He was really stuck!

With Levi taken care of, the redhead turned away and came walking back towards Max, brushing her palms together and giving him a challenging glare. "You want your head shoved through a locker, too?" she growled. Looking terrified, Max shook his head. "Then get outta here," Hunter ordered, pointing down the hall. Frantically nodding, the boy sprinted off as fast as he could in that direction, leaving his buddy behind.

Chuckling to herself, Hunter turned back to see the girl kneeling down on the floor now, picking up her books. The redhead knelt down as well and picked up a couple, stacking them before handing them over to the girl. "Here," she said.

Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, the swarthy girl took the books and looked shyly up at her with a slight smile. "Thanks," she whispered.

Hunter just smiled back and nodded. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, I am now, thanks to you."

"Hey, don't mention it. Those knuckleheads had it comin' to 'em. That the first time they've picked on you."

The girl nodded. "Yeah," she sighed, "but I've been feeling their eyes on me for a while."

"Scoped you out," Hunter grumbled tsking her tongue. "Yep, see, they totally had it coming." With that she stood back up and extended her hand to the girl, helping her to her feet. "Now, maybe it's just me, but I'm willing to guess your name isn't 'Small Fry'," she remarked with a smirk as she helped the girl straighten out her dress.

"No," the girl shook her head, "my name's 'Stardance'."

Hunter smiled. "'Stardance'," she repeated the girl's name, "that's a really pretty name."

"Well, most people call me 'Star'."

Hunter nodded thoughtfully. "'Star' is pretty, too." She giggled along with Star. "So, Star, are you new here? I mean, I only come to school two days out of the week, but I don't remember ever seeing you here."

"I just started this week," Star answered. "My first day was Tuesday."

"Ah, that would explain it," Hunter nodded. "I come Mondays and Fridays to school."

"I've been here for a while, though," Star went on. "At least in the dormitory section." A large section of the school consisted of dormitories where many students stayed during the year. It wasn't required, but if you didn't have a ground-bridge at your immediate disposal it was a lot more convenient. I live with my brother and I just now got accepted by the school to attend."

"You must be pretty smart then."

"I help my brother with his Calculus."

"Yep, most definitely smart." Hunter was quiet for a minute, thinking something over then she asked, "You said you live with your brother in the dorms?"

"Have the last three years."

"What about your parents? They must miss you."

Star's face grew sad. "I don't have parents," she remarked quietly, looking down at the floor. "They died when I was really little."

Hunter's spark broke for Star, hearing the pain in the girl's voice and knowing exactly how it felt. "I lost mine when I was little, too," she sympathized, putting a friendly, comforting hand on Star's shoulder to let her know she understood. "Hey, listen, Star, if you ever need or want to talk about it, feel free to come to me okay."

Star looked up with a small, grateful smile and nodded. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, her entire demeanor changed and she lit up like… well… a star. "Now about you!" she chirped.

Hunter laughed and rolled her eyes a bit, already knowing where this was going. "I get the sense you already know the answer," she remarked, "but go ahead and ask me anyway."

"You're the Fuser, right?" Star was more than eager to voice the inquiry.

Scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, Hunter shrugged and blushed slightly. "Uh… guilty as charged," she muttered. Then she extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Hunter."

Star shook her hand, looking rather starstruck. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting the Fuser—_**the **_Fuser!"

Hunter laughed and held up her hands. "Easy, easy," she said. "I get that I'm more or less a celebrity here…"

"You're the savior of our breed and Cybertron!" Star interrupted.

"… and I'm well aware of that," Hunter assured her with a smirk, "but I'm no different than you or anyone else. I'm just a regular kid who likes to have fun and goof off and spend time with her family and friends… and occasionally kick serious aft when the need arises."

"Eee!" Star squealed, jumping up and down and fanning her hands back and forth in a shameless display of fangirl-ism. "I can't believe it! I have so many questions!"

"Well, I'll only answer them if you promise to calm down and start treating me like a semi-normal teenager, okay?" Hunter chuckled. Usually she got annoyed when people fangirl/boyed over her, but Star… there was just something about her that made it seem different. She was so sweet and innocent that Hunter found it nearly impossible to be miffed.

"Sure," Star panted, stopping jumping around but still looking at Hunter with wide, awestruck, wondering eyes.

Just then the school bell ring, signaling the start of classes.

"Hold that thought," Hunter said.

"Aww!" Star exclaimed, unmistakably disappointed. The thirteen-year-old stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Her first chance to pick the mind of a living legend and classes had to go and interrupt it.

Hunter couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, Star," she suggested teasingly, "it's not the end of the world, okay? Tell ya what—what period is your lunch hour?"

"Fifth."

"Same here. So let's meet up then and you can interview me during that, okay?"

"Okay!" Star eagerly agreed. All at once and rather surprisingly, the younger girl held up her hand, hawked, and spit into her palm before holding it out again.

Hunter stared in shock for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened. It finally clicked. Spit-shake; Star wanted to seal the deal and what better way to do that than with a spit-shake? Nobody would risk germs if they really didn't mean something. Hunter chuckled and rolled her eyes, amused by the turn of events and this girl's audacity. Star was certainly a little spit-fire if ever there was one. With that, Hunter held up her own hand, hawked and spat into her palm as well before reaching out firmly clasping Star's hand. Deal sealed.

"What happened here?!"

Both Hunter and Star turned and looked down the hall to see Principal Darkholm down the hall, standing over a still trapped, struggling, and screeching Levi. So far Darkholm didn't seem to have locked any suspects in his sight yet considering he was still staring in disbelief at the boy's current situation. But it probably wouldn't be long before he did get someone on his radar to either charge with suspicion or question. The girls exchanged quick, fearful look. It would be best for them if neither of them got caught on Darkholm's radar considering they both knew how Levi got to where he currently was. "Uh, no idea, Principal Darkholm," Hunter said, folding her hands behind her back and side-stepping back over to her yet open locker and book bag.

"Yeah," Star agreed starting to back away. "He was like that when he found him."

"Mm-hm," Hunter agreed nodding. "Yep. In fact we were just about ready to pull him out of there, right, Star?"

"Huh? O-oh, yeah! Yeah, we were just getting ready to do that."

"But, uh, seeing as how you're here, Principal Darkholm, we'll just, uh, leave it you." Hunter laughed awkwardly. "Okay? Okay." With that she bent down, picked up her bag and then zipped off down the hall after Star, turning to the right as the younger girl went left. Too close! Way too close! Now if only Darkholm's adoration for her was enough to keep him from believing a word of what Levi said…. "Maybe now's a good time to cash in on the photo op he's always asking for…."

* * *

**Confession #21:**

** Ananias is actually the name of an extremely corrupt high priest who lived in the day Apostle Paul. While my Ananias is not the same guy, what I told you about biblical Ananias should shed some light on our Hybrid Council President in the future….**

**Confession #22:**

** The Hybrid Council is actually fairly extensive. There are three levels: the King (a completely ceremonial position anymore—the King doesn't even have to sit in on meetings and is only called in to be the deciding vote in disputes that can't be settled; six Councilmen (they are really the heads of the whole thing, making all the final decisions); and then there are 196 senators beneath them (represent the Hybrids of all the countries across the globe and relay information and opinions of those Hybrids to their continents designated Councilmen). The six are really the only ones who ever meet for meetings unless something huge is occurring. Will we ever get to meet everyone in the council? Probably not. WAY too big….**

**Confession #23: **

** Dr. Atlas Bartholomew is actually modeled after Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck on the anime RWBY though he's a bit more robust than Oobleck is. (Atlas is played by Hugh Jackman so duh!) His character was so annoyingly charming that I couldn't help but create a character after him!**

**Confession #24: **

** For those of you wondering, no. Nothing bad will happen to Greasy in this book. The ol' codger's gonna be with us for a while.**

**Confession #25:**

**Points to anyone who can tell me what Max's and Levi's full Hybrid names are.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	8. A Battle Wanted is a Battle Given

**Welp, this chapter and the next chapter were going to be one big thing, but I had a lot going on this week and wanted to post something, so I stopped it here. Now that I'm only taking one class and it's online and is in math I should have more free time for writing so hopefully I can speed up the writing process. Hopefully. Let's pray that I don't get any more writer's block, huh? **

**I think it's safe to say that in the next chapter we will get a big, major smackdown because, at this point, there's really no other way to go with it. SO next chapter we will get a big raging battle. Promise. Hybrid's honor.**

**Hunter: You're not a Hybrid.**

**Me: Your point is?  
Hunter: You can't swear on Hybrid's honor.**

**Me: I **_**created **_**Hybrid's honor. I can swear on it all I want.**

**Hunter: Take it and shove it.**

**Me: You take it an shove it!**

**Hunter: No, you!**

**Me: No you!**

***continue to argue***

**Optimus: *comes in* Let us continue on with responding to reviews shall we?**

**WolfAssassin369—Yup. We're gonna have a rager! And once again, points to you for getting their names right!**

**Shadescribe—Max and Levi's Hybrid names: "Maximus" and "Leviathan". **

**Alice Gone Madd—I love Star. She's so cute and sweet! **

**AllSpark Princess—That bad feeling is only going to get worse.**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Steve Jablonsky; Forest Battle

8

Ω A Pugna Volo est a Pugna DonatusΩ

(A Battle Wanted is a Battle Given)

Inching her way along through the lunch line, tray in hand, Hunter loaded her plate up with food. One good thing about OHS was that their lunches were always spectacular; they never seemed to be over- or undercooked like the lunches in every other school she'd attended had been. Once she had everything she wanted, the sixteen-year-old left the buffet, licking her lips as she hungrily eyed her pile of food. It had been a long time since breakfast! Making her way into the common's area, Hunter looked around at the many tables, trying to find Star. She'd met up with the younger girl in the hall just before lunch period and Star had said she'd find them a table. Hunter would have walked with her to lunch and through the line, but she'd had to make a quick stop by the history room at Dr. Bartholomew's request to quickly discuss the concept of her training sessions. What they'd officially decided on, Hunter couldn't remember; she was too hungry at the moment to think about it. After a moment or two of surveillance, the redhead spotted her friend. Star was seated at a table in the back corner of the room—one that hardly ever seemed occupied—and another, older girl was seated with her. She was waving to get Hunter's attention.

Smiling Hunter waved back, letting the girl known she'd seen her, then she began to make tracks in that direction. That was until a few other girls blocked her way. Hunter internally growled in annoyance, instinctively going on the defensive. She hated when people blocked her way intentionally like this; it was never good. Still, the Fuser tried to play nice, putting on a friendly smile. "Hey, girls," she greeted the small group. "What's up?"

"You're Hunter James, right?" a Latina girl who seemed to be the leader of the group questioned with a smile. "The Fuser?"

Hunter sighed and shrugged. "Yup, that's me," she replied. "Savior of Cybertron, fixer-upper of the bond between the Hybrid and Purebred. And you're Princess Andromeda, right? Daughter of King Stormcharger and Queen Starlight—heir to the Hybrid throne?" she asked.

The girl smiled and flipped her hair in an expert way. "Not to mention Queen of Olympus High," she laughed a bit too haughtily.

"Uh… wow," Hunter chuckled awkwardly, "okay. Is that, like, your official title or something?"

"May as well be," the Princess sighed. "But please," she went on, "call me 'Andrea'—all of my friends do."

"Well, okay then, Andrea," Hunter said, "what can I help you with?"

"Actually," Andrea said with a smile, "I'm here to help you."

Hunter blinked in silence for a few moments, trying to process this. The Princess was here to help _**her**_? She needed help? "Um… come again?"

"The girls and I couldn't help but notice how you usually sit by yourself during lunch. Now what with you only coming to school two days out of the week and sitting by yourself during this social time, it's very unlikely that you will be able to make any sort of friendships or develop any sort of social status this way. Well… other than the social status of "loner"."

"It's really tragic," one of Andrea's friends pointed out, putting a hand over her spark as though it would break.

Hunter just stood there in silence for a moment, staring. Where the pit was this going? Also, should she be offended by the insinuation that she was incapable of making friends? "Uh… oh-kaaay…."

"So, anyway, the girls and I decided we'd help you out," Andrea chirped happily.

"How?"

"Well, for one thing, where you sit at lunchtime and who you sit with are crucial details," another of the girls broke into the conversation.

"Usually this has to be done within the first couple days," Andrea went on, "but considering you're only here a couple days out of the week and because you're the Fuser we should be able to right any damage that has been done to your status."

Once again, Hunter was befuddled to silence, still not understanding a single ounce of what was being said or where it was wall leading. "Um… okay… I'm _**really**_ confused."

The girls all rolled their eyes and laughed. "Silly!" Andrea exclaimed. "Isn't it obvious? We're inviting you to come sit with us at our table!"

Okay. _**That's**_ where this was going—the opportunity to sit with the in-group. The _**seriously**_ in-group; I mean the Hybrid Princess was the leader of it—how much more 'in-group' could you possible get? As nice as the offer was, Hunter had never been one of those girls who gravitated towards the in-groups. Plus there was just something about this clique that made them seem to high and mighty. Most unappealing. Still, even if she did get uncomfortable vibes from the girls, there was no reason why Hunter couldn't still be pleasant and friendly about this whole situation. So she didn't want to sit with them, big deal. The couldn't possibly demonize her for that could they? After all, she'd already made plans to sit with Star and she could always sit with these girls some other time in the future. The distant, distant, _**distant**_ future…. "Gee," Hunter replied with a smile, "that's really nice of you guys… but the thing is… I kinda already promised to sit with someone else today, so I'm gonna have to decline."

The girls, particularly Andrea, all seemed to be abruptly taken aback. "What?" Andrea questioned, a disbelieving tone in her voice.

"I can't sit with you today," Hunter said more plainly with a shrug. "Maybe some other time."

Andrea stood in sheer shock for a long time before blinking and giving Hunter a look. "Wait, are… are you saying… 'no' to me?" she all but demanded, jabbing a finger at Hunter.

The redhead smiled sheepishly, wanting this all to be over. "Uh… yes?"

"Nobody ever says 'no' to me," Andrea hissed through her teeth, voice dripping his hostility.

"I don't know what to tell you, Andrea," Hunter shrugged. "I made other plans. Sorry."

"Don't call me 'Andrea'," the brown-haired girl seethed, getting up in Hunter's face. "Only my friends call me that, and I am most certainly not friends with an ungrateful little prude like you!" With that the Princess turned away, flipping her hair decisively as she went and sauntered back over to the table she and her friends had previously been sitting at. The rest of the girls did the same thing, all shooting death glares Hunter's way as they went.

Hunter stared after them in shock for a moment, almost not able to believe what had just taken place. She'd gave them a simple polite 'no' as well as gave them a legitimate reason why she couldn't sit with them and they were angry at her because of it? Jeepers creepers! Some people really _**couldn't**_ take 'no' for an answer! Shaking off her disbelief, the sixteen-year-old continued to weave her way back to the table where Star and the other girl were sitting. Setting her tray down the table, she took a seat next to Star. "That was more than a little huffy," she remarked, half to herself and half to Star and the other girl, who seemed to have been watching the whole thing.

"What happened?" Star asked.

"The Princess and her clique invited me to sit with them," Hunter explained. "I told them no and explained why. Apparently it didn't go over very well."

"I'd be careful of Princess Andromeda if I were you," the older, Asian girl sitting across from them replied with a shake of her head, a slight Korean sounding accent in her voice. "She may seem completely innocent, but she can make your social life a living hell."

Hunter smirked and made a small, amused snort. "It's a good thing I have a virtually non-existent social life then." The girls all laughed.

"Hunter," Star spoke up after a minute, "I'd like you to meet Sunlight Khim. She's a really close friend of my brother and me."

With a friendly smile, Sunny reached across the table. "Call me 'Sunny'," she said.

Smiling back, Hunter reached out and took her hand, shaking it. "Hunter. It's a pleasure to meet you." The redhead looked the girl over for a minute before adding, "I like your hair."

Sunny reached up and ran a hand through her rainbow colored hair with a grin and replied, "Thanks. I do it myself. I just love colors!"

Hunter laughed. "I would have to say so! It looks great—way to be yourself." With that the sixteen-year-old turned to Star with a smile and said, "So, about that interview…."

Star reached down into her backpack that was sitting beside her, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a spiral, three-subject, college-ruled notebook that was very well worn. She slapped it down on the table in front of Hunter. "Everything I want to ask you is in here."

With a laugh, Hunter picked up the notebook and opened it, beginning to flip through the pages… only to see page after page after page after page of questions scribbled down in several different colors of ink. There wasn't a single blank page in the entire notebook. Eyes widening in shock Hunter gulped, admitted feeling a little intimidated. "Oh, wow…."

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

With a heavy sigh, Fowler got out of his helicopter and strode across the top of the mesa over to the waiting elevator, briefcase full of important documents in hand. Entering the elevator, the government agent pressed the down button and waited. "This thing really needs elevator music," he mumbled to himself. Seriously, the silence in this elevator was just eerie and uncomfortable—a little muzak could clear that right up. Finally the lift stopped and the doors opened, letting Fowler out into the confines of the Autobot base where Optimus was already waiting for him with an actual smile on his faceplates for once. "Yeah, you better be smilin', Big 'bot," Fowler remarked a bit tersely. "You got any idea just how many favors I've had to promise and strings I've had to pull to make this possible for you?"

Optimus merely chuckled, in much too good a mood to absorb the agent's sour vibes. "You have everything?" he questioned.

Fowler held up the briefcase and patted it. "It's all here—the paperwork, the documents, everything. Shall we go through it?" Optimus nodded in answer. With that Fowler sighed and walked down the catwalk steps to the main floor before walking off in the direction of the briefing room where he and Optimus usually had their meetings.

The Prime watched after him and then turned to see Ratchet coming out of his lab. "Ratchet," he said to the medic, "Fowler and I will be in a meeting. We're not to be disturb unless there is a dire emergency."

"Of course, Optimus," Ratchet nodded, a small smile on his face as well. He knew exactly why this meeting was so important. In fact, he was the only one who knew these meetings were taking place at all. The Prime had sworn him to secrecy.

Optimus nodded back to him and then followed after Fowler.

"So, have you talked to her yet?" Fowler asked.

"No," Optimus replied with a shake of his head. "I do not wish to bring her hopes up when there is still a sizable amount of uncertainty. I do not believe she could take another heartbreak if this were to not workout, and, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure I would be able to stand it myself. I won't tell her until everything is secured. I will keep it a secret from as many as I can until then—I wish to keep this a surprise."

"You're gonna tell the Lennoxes at least, right?" Fowler questioned. "I mean, technically speaking, she's still under their watch according to the state laws."

"I plan on contacting them as soon as you and I are finished here."

"And what about that policeman friend of yours you were tellin' me about? Have you talked to him yet?"

"I have him on standby. Once I am aware of all the legal action that must be taken I will contact him for advice."

Fowler whistled and shook his head. "Sure is a lot of rig-a-ma-roll goin' into this, Prime," he remarked with a chuckle. He looked up at the tall robot with a smirk and questioned in jest, "You sure she's worth all this?"

Optimus turned his gaze down to the man and returned the smirk. "Absolutely, Agent Fowler," he answered.

"You positive?"

"More than positive."

"All right then, let's get all this done and official so I can stop making favors to so many people!"

Optimus chuckled.

* * *

Greece—Above OHS;

"Nox," someone called his name.

The man turned in acknowledgement. "We're there?"

The masked woman standing behind him nodded. "Yes, sir," she replied. "We're coming up on it now."

"Get Crescent working," Nox replied. "We need him to hack into that dome now and lower it so that we can get inside. We don't get inside we don't get the girl."

"Yes, sir," the woman responded.

* * *

Sighing, Hunter pulled her sneakers on and laced them up before reaching back and pulling her long, flaming red ponytail tight. She stood up from the bench and walked among the other girls in the locker only stopping quickly to look herself over in the mirror. When compared to the regular uniforms, OHS's gym uniforms weren't terrible. As form-fitting as they were, the uniforms were surprisingly movable, breathable, and didn't consist of some sort of skirt (that was a _**huge**_ bonus). Plus they weren't totally hideous. With that, the redhead continued on her way out of the locker room and into the gym, joining the group of students that were already stretching in preparation for the class. Taking a deep breath, the girl braced her hands on her hips and twisted her upper body one way and then the other a few times before slipping down into an effortless split. Hearing a wolf-whistle she looked up to see almost all of the guys' eyes trained on her and wide in amazement and desire, grin's on all their faces. The teen rolled her sapphire blues in annoyance. Boys. She moved out of the split and up into push-ups.

"Hey."

Hunter paused at the top of a push up and raised her head, craning her neck back so that she could look all the way up to the face of the tall, dark-skinned boy before her. "Hey," she greeted back.

"Hunter, right?"

With a grunt, Hunter moved out of the pushups and sat back, smiling up at him. "That's me," she replied. "And you?"

The boy extended his hand down to her. "My name is Hawk Washington, I'm Star's brother."

"Nice to meet you Hawk," Hunter said, shaking his hand before allowing him to help her to her feet. "Listen if you're gonna say thank you for what I did for Star don't worry about it," she assured him. "It was no big deal. I hate jerks like Max and Levi, and somethin' tells me if they hadn't gotten it today they would have gotten it later."

"Well, thanks anyway," Hawk insisted on being grateful. "Star is… well, we're all each other has. My parents made me promise to take care of her and protect and what with school and work and all I can't always be there to look out for her. It eases my mind to know that someone can when I can't."

Hunter gave him a small smile. "My pleasure," she declared softly. "She's a good kid."

Hawk snorted. "Preaching to the choir."

Hunter's smile dropped and she gave the boy a sympathetic look. "She told me about your parents," she stated softly. "I'm really sorry. I know what it's like to lose the ones you love."

Hawk smiled sadly and shrugged. "It's okay."

Silence fell over the two for a moment before Hunter finally asked, "How long has it been?"

The boy sighed heavily and crossed his arms over chest. "Eight years," he murmured. "I was ten, Star was only five."  
"What happened?"

Hawk shrugged. "Dad got real sick—still don't really know what it was; he was gone before we could even take him to a doctor. Mom died of a broken spark just a few months later. They'd known each other all their lives, since they were kids; it was a real love story. After that we moved in with our grandparents. She died about four years ago, that's when Star came to live here in the dorms with me."

Hunter could have sworn her spark broke. Hawk and Star had everyone they'd ever cared about—everyone who'd ever loved them. Evidently she wasn't the only one to have been cursed in love. The sixteen-year-old was about to open her mouth and say something else when Coach Hendricks came into the gym and blew his whistle. All attention turned to him.

"All right, people, listen up!" Hendricks shouted in his distinctive drill sergeant tone. "I hope your all limbered up and ready to go 'cuz we're all gonna have ourselves a competition today—winners-take-all!" That said, the large man pulled a volleyball out from behind his back. "Now upon seeing this volleyball," he announced, starting to march around the room in front of them all, "I can only guess you are all under the impression that our competition is gonna take the form of a volleyball game. Well, you're only partly right! But instead of volleyball we're gonna play a little game I like to call…" his voice dropped off as he looked around at his students.

"He really has to pause for dramatic effect?" Hunter whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Hawk.

"Well, he _**is **_one of the drama coaches as well," Hawk whispered back.

Hunter's head whipped around and she stared at the eighteen-year-old in disbelief. "Seriously?"

Hawk simply nodded with a smile.

"Wow," Hunter remarked. "Remind me to not go out for drama."

Hawk chuckled.

"… Bodyball!" Hendricks finally announced the name. "What is Bodyball, you ask? Essentially it is very much the same as volleyball, except for one major difference: you are not limited to only using your hands and arms! You can use hands, arms, heads, hips, legs, feet, shoulders, anything you want!"

"Hence the name 'Bodyball'," Hawk whispered.

Hunter nodded.

"You'll all split up into teams of two!" the coach went on. "You can pick your partners! I will decide what team plays against what team! First team to fifteen wins! And no—I repeat—_**no **_powers! I see any powers being used, I'll make you and your teammate run the track the rest of the period. Now pick your teammate and give me ten laps around the gym! Now!" Putting the whistle in his mouth he blew it shrilly again, causing all of the students to cringe.

Hunter and Hawk turned to each other. "Team?" the girl questioned him with a lopsided smile.

Hawk laughed and smiled. "Why not?" he questioned by way of answer.

Partnered up, they began their laps.

With the laps finished the teams all lined up and waited as Coach Hendricks went down the line picking out who would go up against whom. Finally he came to Hunter and Hawk. "Washington, James," he announced, looking them both up and down and then looking on down the line, "you two up against Packard and Russo." Reaching into the gym bag slung over his shoulder, he pulled out two pairs of kneepads and shoved them at them. "Here." The man then went on down the line, pairing up everyone else.

Hunter and Hawk looked to where Coach had motioned to see the team they were up against. Hunter's stomach dropped. "We're up against the Princess?" she practically groaned. "Ugh, fantastic."

"Yeah," Hawk chuckled with a nod. "Star told me about what happened at your lunch time today."

"Sunny warned me that Andromeda would make my life hell," Hunter commented. She looked at Hawk and jabbed a thumb towards the other girl, a hand on her hip. "Somethin' tells me she's gonna start here."

The eighteen-year-old nodded in agreement. "Most likely. Watch yourself. She might be a princess but she's one of the star athletes at Olympus High and not just because of her title either. She's gifted." With that said the two shut up because they could see their opponents coming in their direction, the Princess bearing a nasty, mean-spirited sneer on her face.

Coming up to them with a genuinely friendly grin, the boy, Thunder Packard clasped first Hawk's hand then Hunter's in his firmly. "Good luck, guys," he told them. With smiles of their own, Hawk and Hunter wished him good luck in turn.

Then Andromeda came up. Just like her partner she shook their hands, but when she took Hunter's she squeezed it a bit more firmly, as though she desired to crush it in her grip, and held on to it a bit longer even pulling the redhead in a bit closer. She sneered up into younger Hybrid's face. "May the best team win," she said, cockiness in her voice as well as a challenge.

Hunter's eyes narrowed and she scowled. "May the best team win," she snarled back.

* * *

Andromeda stood at the back of her court just outside the line, bouncing and spinning the ball as she prepared to serve it up. Packard was in the ready position near the back of their court. On the other side across the net from them Hunter and Hawk were in ready positions as well, Hunter up near the net and Hawk near the back, waiting. Finally, Andromeda stopped bouncing the volleyball and held it up, sandwiching it between her hands. After a second or two she tossed the ball into the air and ran, jumping up, and slamming the top of her foot against it. The ball soared across the court and over the net with blistering speed.

Not able to dive down and get his arms under it fast enough, Hawk stuck his leg out and swiped his foot under the ball bouncing it up off his ankle. "Hunter!" he called.

Hunter moved towards the ball and got under it before setting it up as best she could. It wasn't very good. Instead of sending it out in front of her so that Hawk could spike it, the ball went flying off her fingertips behind her. Hawk just barely managed to dive and bump the ball back up and over the net before it hit the floor. Rolling back to his feet he gave Hunter a disbelieving look. Hunter cringed. "Sorry!"

Shaking his head, Hawk quickly turned his attention back to the game onto to once again dive for the ball. He hit the floor chest-first with a solid _**boom!**_ just barely getting the ball knocked up with a single fist. Hunter got under it again and set the ball again. This time it went forward like it was supposed to… but instead of going forward in front of the net on their side, it went forward and over the new to the other side, only to be quickly blocked by Andromeda.

That time Hawk couldn't get under it. Point for the PR team! Getting back up on his feet, Hawk shook his head and looked over at Hunter. "Hunter, you need to set the ball to _**me**_," he stated, patiently though he looked a bit annoyed.

The redhead stomped her foot and glared at him. "Hey, what do you want from me?" she demanded defensively. "I've _**never**_ been a good setter!"

The ball was served once again. Hawk got under and bumped it up back over the net to the other side. Thunder charged the ball and kicked a leg up, putting it back up off his knee. Andromeda then quickly jumped into the air, raised a leg, and slammed her heel against the ball, sending it back down on the other side of the net. The ball fell so fast that neither Hawk nor Hunter had a chance of diving for it before it hit the floor. It hit the floor so hard that the wood vibrated so violently that Hunter and Hawk nearly lost their footing. The reverberations seemed to affect the other teams on the other courts as well.

Finding her balance again, Hunter snarled and glared in Andromeda's direction. "No way," she growled. "There is no fraggin' way she didn't use her superstrength on that last hit!"

"Ya think?" Hawk questioned by way of agreement, he too glaring at the Princess who was picking up the ball and walking back to serve again.

"So why isn't Hendricks going after her for it?" Hunter inquired, looking over at the large man who was standing stoically by, watching on. "There's no way he didn't feel that!"

"She's the Princess," her teammate replied. "You really thinking he's going to call her out on something like that?"

"So what? I'm the Fuser and he'd call _**me**_ out on it!"

"Yeah, but _**your**_ dad doesn't fund to the school."

Hunter growled in exasperation, her ire rising higher by the second. "There's no way King Stormcharger would be so petty as to pull his funding from OHS," she snapped. She'd meet Stormcharger several times now and had come to know him a bit more personally. The teen liked him. He didn't seem like that type of guy at all.

"Yeah, well, nobody is willing to risk it just in case."

"So what do we do then?" she demanded.

"Play clean," Hawk replied, "and try as hard as we can."

They all waited for Andrea to serve the ball up again and when she did and it came flying over, Hawk and Hunter did their best as volleying and putting up a fight. They did good, but not good enough. They'd only sent it over the net a couple times in the set when Thunder and Andromeda sent it back, the ball slamming into the floor once again by an elbow hit from the Princess. This time the ball hit the ground so hard it created a small crater right in the middle of Hunter and Hawk's court. The two lost their footing that time and landed in a heap.

Hawk looked up and over in Coach Hendricks' direction, holding a hand out and looking at the man in disbelief. "Coach!" he exclaimed. Andromeda had just broken the gym floor—the Coach's gym floor—and he wasn't even going to call her out on that?!

"What are you doing?!" Thunder demanded, turning to his teammate with a look of incredulity. "You're gonna get us _**both**_ in trouble with that crap!"

Growling, Hunter pushed herself up into a kneeling position and glowered in the Princess' direction again. That was it! "I've had it!" she declared. "No more Ms. Nice Girl! Princess, get ready to say 'hello' my competitive side!" The redhead pushed herself up to her feet and helped Hawk up while asking, "Switch me places?"

"Sure," Hawk grunted. Once he was on his feet he smirked and went on, "I can't possibly be a worse setter than you." He moved up near the net and Hunter moved towards the back of the court, making numerous mental notes to steer clear of the crater.

Once again the ball went up and was served over with just as much powers as it had been served the last few times. Hunter got under it and bumped it up. "Hawk!" Hawk quickly got the ball back up in a perfect set. Hunter charged forward and jumped, drawing a fist back and punching the ball down right in front of the net on the other side. Point for the Double H team! Whooping and laughing, Hunter and Hawk high-fived each other before looking across the way to see Andromeda glaring hotly at them, grinding her teeth together. Hunter waved and smiled cutely. Picking up the ball she turned to Hawk and offered it to him. "You serve?"

The eighteen-year-old shook his head. "You earned us that point," he stated. "You serve."

The girl nodded and retreated toward the back of the court. Bouncing the ball a couple times she sent it up in the air and jump-served it, sailing it across the net to be volleyed before running back to her place. When it came back over she jumped up and slammed her hip into it. Back over the net the ball went. Thunder bumped it up, Andrea set it, and Thunder once again came into contact with it, trying to spike it over, but Hawk jumped up and successfully blocked it, forcing Thunder to scramble to set it up again. They didn't make it. Another point for Double H! Picking up the ball again, Hunter ran back and served it over again.

The fight went on, the odds shifting in Hunter and Hawk's favor as time dragged out. Andromeda kept using her powers every now and again, but each time Hunter and Hawk managed to counter it, now that they were expecting it. Eventually the game came down to the wire. It would be close; Hunter and Hawk needed just one more point to win—Andrea and Thunder would need three. It was PR team's serve. Thunder served it up and sent it over; Hunter charged up and knocked the ball up to Hawk with her ankle; Hawk set it up higher than the ball had been set before then he quickly knelt down and linked his hands together near the floor. Eyes on the ball, Hunter ran forward, planted a foot in her teammate's hands and let him launch her up into the air. Moving into a spin, the sixteen-year-old slammed her foot into the ball and sent it blistering down to the court. It hit the floor Point—Double H was the winner!

Cheering, whooping, laughing, Hunter and Hawk celebrated, high-fiving each other, hugging and hefting each other off the floor. "Oh, yeah! That's how to do it! Whoo! Yeah-ha!"

Laughing, Thunder came up to the net. "Good game, guys," he congratulated them, shaking their hands under the net. "Nice moves."

"Thanks," Hunter said.

"You too," Hawk replied at the same time.

Hunter turned towards Andromeda, who was standing near the back of the court, arms crossed over her chest, stewing and pouting. The redhead smirked. Oh, this was just to perfect! She could just go right back there right now and rub it in the Princess' face and…. "_Now, Hunter,_" the gracious, reasonable side of her interrupted and tamed her down, "_just because you won and the girl was a brat to you doesn't mean you have to be so rude. What would your father think?_" So, with a labored sigh, Hunter stooped under the net and made her way back towards the older girl. "Uh…" the teen chuckled and scratched the back of her neck before extending her hand, "… good game, Princess."

Andromeda scowled up at her, a growl rumbling up from her throat before she harshly smacked the younger girl's hand away. "Good game, huh?" she hissed. "Yeah, sure it was a good game for you considering _**you**_ cheated!"

Hunter stumbled back aghast. "_**I **_cheated?!" she gasped incredulously. "_**I **_didn't use any powers and neither did Hawk or even Thunder! _**You **_were the one who used your powers, Andromeda! _**You **_cheated!"  
Andrea gasped offended, a hand on her chest. "Moi?! How dare you accuse me of cheating! A lady never cheats!"

"Well then, boy, do I have some news for you, Princess! You're not a lady, you're a rat! _**I'm **_not the one who made a hole in the floor when I knocked the ball down!"

"Are you calling me a liar?!"

"If the boot fits!"

"Say that again," Andromeda growled lowly.

Putting her hands on her hips, Hunter bent down and stuck her face right in the Princess' face. "If. The boot. Fits," she enunciated slowly.

Andrea's scowl deepened and she looked as though she was about ready to start throwing punches (it would be a stupid move on her part) when suddenly there was a loud zap and then a shattering sound. Glass shards came raining down from the large glass skylight above them that adorned the top of the mountain as well as bits and pieces of the framework. Everyone screamed and ran their arms up over their heads.

Nerves tingling, Hunter quickly looked up to see a large part of the metal framework coming down almost directly atop her and Andromeda. Without a second thought the redhead slammed her palms against the Princess' shoulders, shoving her out of the way before reaching up and catching the beam. Lightly grunting, she carefully set it down on the floor and looked up towards the broken dome at the sound of whipping and reeling. Above the dome outsider there were three aircraft vehicles, all painted black, and all resembling the Blackbird from Hunter's beloved X-Men out of these aircraft armored and masked men and women where sliding down through the shattered skylight on cables. Before long a dozen of them stood at the center of the gym. They all faced Hunter.

A woman and man, who were most likely the captains of this team, stepped forward. "Hunter James?" the female questioned from behind her mask.

Putting a hand on her hip, Hunter tossed her hair. "Who wants to know?" she demanded.

"Please come with us," the man said, stepping forward and holding his hand out.

Hunter remained silent with a skeptical look on her face. Her eyes went from their masks, consisting of cowls and goggles, to their weapon hilts she could see peeking over their shoulders their armor and black and red attire. Usually the sixteen-year-old tried to keep an open mind and not judged based on looks, but her gut was screaming at her to not trust these guys. And, quite frankly, so was her ESP. Evil just had a certain feel to it—a certain vibe—and these people, whoever the heck they were, definitely had it. Examination complete, Hunter sucked her teeth and shook her head. "Uh, I'm gonna have to go with 'no'," she declared. Wow! She was saying that a lot today! Hopefully these guys took it better than Andromeda and her friends had.

The sound of unsheathing weapons rang in the air. Evidently they weren't going to take it any better than Andrea and her friends had. In fact, they seemed to be taking it worse. A _**lot**_ worse.

"You don't understand," the man growled, coming forward with a red-bladed sword drawn, "it's not a question of 'yes' or 'no'. You _**are**_ coming with us."

"Is that a fact?" Hunter challenged, gaze narrowing and crossing her arms over her chest.

The man came closer. "Come with us," he repeated firmly.

"Didn't you hear me?" Hunter snapped. "I said no. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Snarling the woman stomped towards Hunter and pointed jaggedly at her. "You're making a grave mistake, little girl," she told the teenager. "One you'll regret once we finally get a hold of you. And believe me; we _**will **_get a hold of you."

Hunter glared the woman down, not the least bit phased. "I'll take my chances," she declared. "Don't let the door hit'cha on the way out." With that Hunter turned away only to quickly be stopped as a weighted chain wound itself tightly around her wrist and jerked back around to face them all again. "Whoa!" Another whip caught up her other wrist and was pulled tight, dragging her a bit closer to her aggressors. She glared at the man and woman again. "The hell is your problem?!"

"You're not walking away," the man rumbled, pulling his whip tighter. "Easy way or hard way, you're coming with us, Ms. James."

Hunter glowered, ducking her head so that she was glaring up at him from under her furrowed brows, and bared her teeth. These people had a prayer if they thought she was going anywhere with them. "I'd like to see you try," she hissed.

The woman jerked her chain, causing to painfully bite into Hunter's flesh. "Show some respect!" she growled.

Hunter glared up at her. "Don't wrap chains around my wrists," she spit venomously back, "then we'll talk." With that, Hunter sent electrical jolts down the metal whips, successfully electrocuting her captors.

"Ahhhhhh!" The man and woman let go of their whips and collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The other soldiers looked down at them in shock and then back up at the sound if whipping air and clinking.

Chains still wrapped around her wrists, Hunter had a hold of the whips, spinning them around. "Who wants to bring it?!" she bellowed. "Huh?! Come on!" After a moment of hesitation, two of the soldiers ran forward weapons at the ready. Hunter reacted. Whipping one of the chains forward she caught one of the soldier in the head with the handle, knocking him out. Then she threw out the other whip. It wound itself around the other soldier's neck and Hunter jerked her fist back, pulling the woman towards her. She smashed her fist against her face, breaking her goggles. The redhead then dropped the whips and shook them loose before charging the main group who in turn began charging her. They were almost on top of each other when Hunter suddenly launched herself into the blink of an eye. The soldiers all stopped and looked around, searching for the girl; they didn't know where she'd suddenly disappeared to, she'd moved so quickly. Finally they looked up. There above them, a smirk on her face and a fist drawn back Hunter briefly soared and then came crashing back down, landing in a crouch and slamming her fist into the gym floor with such force that it caused the floor to ripple. "Hoo-ah!" Her opponents were thrown against the walls.

When it was all over, Hunter stood and looked around at them all, seeing some of them start to get back on their feet and get their bearings back. Some of them were already starting to advance on her again. The teen cursed. Taking on a dozen Decepticons was one thing. Taking on a dozen other Hybrids that she knew absolutely nothing about that probably had training even more advanced than her own was another. She'd had enough trouble standing up to Bombardier as it was! Granted at that time she hadn't undergone half the intensive training she had now and he had absorbed her gifts and matched her power for power, but still. She needed some cover. Igniting her fists, Hunter punched them together creating a sort of flash-bang that temporarily blinded everyone. With a cry, all of the soldiers hid their eyes from the brightness despite the tint of their goggles. Hunter took that as her chance.

Kicking it into hyperspeed, the teen zipped forward and quickly took out the closest two soldiers to her, leaving them unconscious, then she headed to the next one. By then the effects of the flash had worn off considerably and she had to exchange a few blows with the woman before disabling her. Hunter quickly pivoted around, extracting her razors as she did so, and got them up just in the nick of time as one of the men, who had come up behind her, brought his blade down. She blocked it. "Huh!" The two quickly went into a round of crossing blades, Hunter just narrowly managing to block him each time. These guys were good and fast! She definitely had a challenge here and, to be perfectly honest, she wasn't all that sure she liked it; especially when considering the fact that, if she lost, she was going to be taken. The sixteen-year-old finally managed to relieve the man of his weapon. She cut his whole forearm off in the process, but at this current juncture that was pretty much irrelevant.

"Ahhh!" The man screamed in pain and clutched at his bleeding arm, sinking to his knees. He wasn't in pain for long however because Hunter quickly planted the toe of her sneakers between his eyes.

Hunter's nerves tingled once again and she whipped around to cross blades with another of the soldiers. The two of them went parrying across the gym floor. The redhead managed to catch the blade between her razors and jerk it up and away from the woman. The sword went flying out of her razors and lodged itself in the ceiling.

The woman stared up at it before looking back and Hunter. Without any warning, she reached back over her shoulder again, pulled out another, smaller blade, and, quick as lightning, stabbed it forward into Hunter's lower abdomen. _**Squilsh!**_

"Ahh!" Hunter stumbled back, grabbing at the wound. For a moment she sank to her knees, quivering and biting back the pain, then she wrapped a quivering and around the hilt of the dagger. Gritting her teeth, the young Hybrid yanked it out. "Ahh-ah!" The girl held the blade up in front of her, staring at the blade, covered and dripping with her energon, hand still pressed to her wound. She lifted her gaze to the woman's. "Really?" she gasped. "Stabbing me?" The lesion healing, Hunter slowly rose to full height, glaring down at the woman who was at least a foot shorter than she was. An angry fire blazed in her sapphire blue eyes. "Do you have any idea how stupid an idea that was?" She dropped the dagger and kicked it away.

Gulping the woman took a step back, only to have Hunter follow her. She frantically began fumbling around on her belt before finally pulling out her whip. She thrashed it at Hunter, only to have the chain be caught in an unyielding grip and yanked right out of her hands. Panicking, the woman clenched a fist and threw it forward. Her fist was caught and quickly crushed. "Ahhh!"

Leaning down, Hunter glared into the woman's goggles and bared her teeth as she hissed, "Big mistake." That said, the teen threw a rock-hard fist up, catching the woman under her chin, and rocketed her skyward up straight through the ceiling and into one of the aircraft above, causing it to explode.

"Hrah!"  
Hunter spun around to see another one of the women running towards her. Growling she charged, extracting her razors once more and preparing to slash through the woman. "Hhhaaaahhh!" The teen raised her left arm and swung it down… only to have the solider disappear in a cloud of smoke just before she could make contact. Of course Hunter was thrown for a loop. Stuttering to a stop, Hunter looked around with wide eyes, trying to find the woman again. That's when her ponytail and a boot heel was placed in the small of her back. "Wha…?" Half-kicked, half-thrown, Hunter was sent flying across the gym and almost into a wall when she was suddenly snagged by the ankle, another hand grabbing her just below the inside of her knee. She was thrown down into the floor. Hard. So hard in fact that she went skidding through it to the other side of the gym, gouging out a path of broken floorboards in her wake. "Whoa-oh-oh!" The sixteen-year-old slammed right into the bleachers, sending the whole wall of them tumbling down upon and burying her.

* * *

**Confession #26:**

** When I use the term "bleeding" for Hybrids and Purebreds, I do mean in fact "leaking" as in "leaking energon". But the phrase "leaking energon" doesn't always work for the context of the sentence. And a simple "leaking" makes it sound like someone has a bladder issue that they need to get checked. Besides if you can "bleed love" you can "bleed energon". Am I right, people? Of course I am.**

**Confession #27:**

** What are Optimus and Fowler up to? Anyone wanna guess? ALICE, WOLFIE, ZIP IT!**

**Confession #28:**

** "Bodyball" is actually based on the scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender where Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai play beach volleyball on Ember Island. If you guys haven't seen that you should look it up on youtube. It's pretty intense and awesome!**

**Confession #29:**

**If I could and I had the skills, yes, I would totally play Bodyball and try to turn it into an actual sport.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	9. The Battle of Mount Olympus

**Wow. I keep dragging out these chapters like RWBY episodes: some action here, some action there. And as much as I love that I hate it as well. I'M FEELING SO CONTRADICTORY RIGHT NOW! Ugh! I've been watching too much RWBY. …No I haven't—I take that back—strike if from the records. *sighs* Anyway, this is sort of a "welcome back" gift for my spark-sister WolfAssassin396. Good to have you back, Bug-a-boo. :D**

**WolfAssassin369—You would think, right? Evidently not. And *hugs* welcome back!**

**Alice Gone Madd—Don't worry. She'll be all right for a few more chapters before the big bad happens.**

**AllSpark Princess—Andromeda will eventually get better to the point we'll probably end up liking her. But for the moment, not so much.**

**SunnySides—Like I've said before sometimes the plugs are intentional, sometimes they're not, it's all about what I like that can fit really. As for Optimus and Fowler—maybe, maybe not, I'm not telling so soon. **

**Hey, Hunter, get in here! We got a question for ya!**

**Hunter: *comes in and reads question* Shattered Glass universe? What's that?**

**It's a version of the TF universe where the Decepticons are the good guys and the Autobots are the bad guys.**

**Hunter: So… you mean Dad's the human-hating, power hungry warmonger and Megatron is like Dad?**

**Yeah.**

**Hunter:… I'd rather not answer this question then. It's too weird to wrap my processor around.**

**Shadescribe—She'll learn soon. Don't worry. ;)**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Gothic Storm; _Stand and Fight_

9

Ω Pugna of Conscendo OlympusΩ

(The Battle of Mount Olympus)

A scream went up from the students as several of them went running out of the way of the collapsing bleachers. Hawk stood frozen across the gym with the rest of the class, staring in horror before his eye quickly flickered over to the two women who had buried Hunter beneath the stands. Who were these people? What did they want with Hunter? A protective male, Hawk's instincts told him that he should get in there and help his friend out , but what exactly could he do? He had no idea who he was up against here. Plus, unlike Hunter, he didn't have multiple lives like she did so if the worst happened to him what would become of Star? He'd promised his parents and then grandparents that he'd look out for her. What good would that promise be if he went and got himself killed in a battle against strange Hybrid? Still, Hunter needed help. And he knew how to fight. But what if he was killed? Hawk went back and forth with this moral dilemma, trying to decide what to do and if it was necessary.

One of the masked women marched over to the pile of bleachers and picked her way up it, looking around. After a moment she stopped and turned to look back at her teammate. "I think we got her," she called down to them. It wasn't a second after that that a large explosion occurred, scattering the bleachers and well as turning some of them to rubble and shrapnel.

Hawk ran out in front of his classmates and held out his hands, stopping a large section of bleacher that had come flying their way. The metal came into contact with his hands and caved in but stopped its forward progression. A lavender aura surrounded both the eighteen-year-old and the metal bleacher for a moment before it disappeared. The bleacher crashed to the floor. Feeling the kinetic energy absorbing into his muscles, making him stronger, Hawk turned his attention back to where the explosion had taken place. He was relieved to see Hunter, mostly unscathed, back up to her feet.

Growling and fists still ignited in hot blue flames, Hunter glared out through the smoke at the remaining woman. Reaching up to her left shoulder she yanked off her sleeve that was just hanging by a thread igniting it and burning it to ash as she did. "Let's do this," the teen snarled mainly to herself. With that she crouched down into a start position. There was a boom and in the blink of an eye the masked woman was flying across the gym and through the wall, through another wall, though another wall after that, and, ultimately right out the side of the mountain before slamming against the force-field that concealed the school and crashing to the ground. Standing where the woman had previously been, Hunter lowered her extended fist. When she heard groaning, she whipped around towards the sound, seeing the first two she had taken out—the team leaders—starting to come to. Another grow rumbling up from her throat, she advanced towards them.

Sitting up, both the man and woman shook their heads before looking around to see their team scattered around, all either dead, or wounded and unconscious. The woman sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "Well," she remarked, "that's what you get when you take the rookies out."

The man turned his attention towards the fuming girl storming her way across the gym towards them. "You're just a regular little powerhouse, aren't you?" he declared with a slight laugh.

Hunter shook her head, his laugh only fueling her anger. "You guys," she rumbled, "picked the wrong damn day for this crap."

Her opponents got to their feet. "We did, huh?" the man questioned, cracking his shoulders and neck. "Well, that remains to be seen."

"I will make mince-meat outta the two of you!"

"Well, then," the woman laughed, drawing out her weapons as her partner drew out his, "come on, Hunter. Show us exactly what you can do."

"Hmph!" Hunter extracted her razors.

For a long moment the three of them stood there in silence, having a face-off, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then it happened. "Huh!" Hunter launched herself into the air, moved into a horizontal spin, and came down between her captors, slashing for them. "Hrah!" They both leapt out of the way. The teen paused for a quick moment, deciding who to go after first, before she lunged at the male, teeth bared. "Hah!" She swung her left set of razors forward, only to be blocked with the sword in his right hand, so she swung her right set soon. Once again, she was blocked by the dagger in his left hand. Quickly retracting her claws, Hunter dropped down and swiped a leg out at his ankles, trying to knock his feet out from under him. "Uh!" She did hit him in the ankles, but instead of falling he bent over backwards, planted a fist against the floor, moved up into a graceful handspring and was up on his feet again. The teen would have gone after him again had it not been for her ESP tingling. Spinning around she just shifted off to the side to avoid being impaled on a sword. "Ugh! Uh!" She grabbed her opponent's other wrist as the woman tried to bring it forward and stab her with her dagger. Bringing her arm up, she elbowed the woman hard in the nose, knocking her back. Whipping around again, Hunter lifted her razors up again and caught the blades of the man with them, holding them off. "Rah!" For a moment she meet his eyes, hidden behind those red-lensed goggles. Then she raised her leg up and kneed him in the gonads, hard, causing him to cry out and drop his weapons before grabbing his tenders as he sank to his knees. Hunter then spun round and planting her foot in the side of his head. "Huh! Hyah!"

A hand gripped her shoulder and Hunter reached around and grabbed the wrist it was attached to. Swinging the woman up and over she slammed her into the floor and planted her foot in her shoulder as she kept a hold of her arm, twisting it. The woman cried out in obvious pain before reaching up and grabbing the redhead's ankle and jerking her leg. "Whoa-oof!" Hunter faceplanted into the floor. Growling, the teen quickly rolled onto her back and kicked a foot out at her opponent's ankles. "Hah!" The woman fell and her forehead cracked against Hunter's knee. While she laid on the floor for a moment, trying to shake the dizziness and pain away, Hunter got back up on her feet before reaching down and grabbing the woman by the back of her armor. Jerking her up off the floor, she wrapped her arms around the woman's shoulders and neck in a headlock. "Like I said," she panted into her ear, "you guys picked the wrong day to do this."

Behind her mask, the woman smirked and laughed darkly. "You think so, huh?" she challenged. Suddenly she threw her head back and bashed it against the teen's and then threw her arm back to elbow her in the temple, causing Hunter to let go. She then reached down and grabbed the redhead's leg, jerking it up between hers while twisting off to the side and wrapping her leg girl's waist to force her to fall. Once they were both on the ground, the woman bent Hunter's leg sharply down to the floor, causing a sickening crackling sound to come from her hip. Hunter threw back her head in a cry. Snickering, the woman got to her feet and stood over the prone girl, smirking down at her. "Seems like we picked a pretty good day to me," she remarked. With that she lifted it a foot and was about to smash it down against Hunter's face when she was suddenly blasted away from the girl and crashed against the wall.

Grunting, Hunter managed to sit up and looked to see what has forced her opponent away from her. Her eyes widened. "Hawk?"

The Canadian was standing there half-court, eyes glowing red with some kind of energy. His eyes were trained on the woman before they finally shifted down to Hunter. The red energy surrounding them dissipated and he rushed over to help her up. "You okay?" he asked, hoisting the girl up on her feet and allowing her to lean on him for support. His silver eyes did a quick look-over for any obvious injuries.

Grimacing, Hunter pressed a hand against her hip as she straightened her leg out, biting her lip against the pain as it popped back into place. "You should get out of here," she grunted. "This isn't your fight."

"Hey, we're teammates," Hawk replied. "Mi casa es su casa and all that."

"Since when did houses come into the picture?"

"You know what I mean."

"All right then," Hunter sighed. "If you wanna fight, knock yourself out." She shoved away from Hawk and started stalking towards the masked man who was starting to recover and get up himself. "You take She-vis over there—I'll take Butthead." Clenching her fists, the teen walked away, a growl rumbling in her chest.

Hawk watched after her for a moment before turning back to "She-vis". He got into a ready position as she began getting up and took several deep breaths to try and calm himself down. This was the first actual fight he'd ever been in. Well, okay, he'd been in other fights earlier in his life too, but this was the first life and death fight he'd ever been in. "Just don't get killed," the boy whispered the oh-so-comforting piece of advice to himself. "Just don't get killed."

Groaning, "She-vis" straightened up and stretched her back before cracking her neck, then she turned her attention on Hawk. Another smirk materialized at her lips. She began sauntering towards him, her hips possessing an extra sway as she murmured, "You're gonna regret the decision to help your pal, little boy." She chuckled as she pulled out her sword and dagger again. "You have no idea what you got yourself into."

"Well," Hawk commented somehwhat cheekily. "I always have liked mysteries."

The woman snorted, then charged. "Rraahh!"

Ignoring the fight that had just commenced behind her, Hunter focused all her attention on "Butthead" standing before her and the mêlée that was going to commence there. "Just you and me, pal," she informed him. "I'll let you pick—easy way or hard way?"

"Butthead" walked over to his fallen weapons and retrieved them, spinning and flipping both of them expertly in his hands and on his fingertips. He snickered. "One in the same to me, little girl," he answered. "You're gonna find out pretty quickly that I don't go down so easily."

"Says the guy who doubled over when I nailed his crotch," Hunter snorted.

"Well, everyone has a weak spot. I'll just be extra careful and make sure to guard mine now that you know where it is."

"Won't make any difference," Hunter snarled. "I'll still knock you to Kingdom Come and back again."

"Butthead" snorted. "Good luck with that, sweet-spark," he patronized. "I take hits a lot better than most Hybrids do."

"Oh, yeah?" Hunter challenged, the statement piquing her already flaming ire a bit more. "Well here's a newsflash, buddy," Hunter kicked in her hyper-speed and dashed towards the man, punching him square in the face and through the wall behind him, "I hit a lot harder than most Hybrids do."

Sitting up amid the rubble on the other side of the wall, "Butthead" put down his dagger for a moment (he'd somehow managed to keep hold of his weapons) and rubbed his jaw for a moment, moving it around as well. "Not bad, Ms. James," he commented. "Not bad at all." With that he grabbed his dagger again and stood back up. "Well, then," he sighed, coming back through the hole into the wall and into the gym, "let the battle begin."

Growling, Hunter moved into a ready position and released her blades before barreling in the man's direction. "Hhhhaaahhh!" She swung her right set of razors up only to be blocked, then quickly swung her left set up to be blocked again. The teen pivoted around with an extended leg. "Hyah!" Her opponent dodged and came at her with his blades: Hunter blocked the sword and just managed to duck out of the way of the dagger. The redhead was quickly back up, swinging and slicing away at the man. "Butthead" continued to block. Using the moment of one block he spun around and bashed the butt of his sword hilt into Hunter's cheek. "Ack!" Hunter stumbled back, dazed and seeing stars. Before she had time to collect herself again, the young Hybrid was backhanded across the face hard enough to send her flying away from her opponent. Crashing down mid-court, Hunter rolled before finally regaining her senses and moving into a somersault in order to right herself. Finally up on her feet, the sixteen-year-old shook her head and glared back up towards "Butthead", teeth bared in a growl.

Spinning his sword around his fingers, the man chuckled. "I can do this all day, sweet-spark," he stated, resting his sword on his shoulder.

"Let's test that theory," Hunter murmured to herself. She lunged. "Rah!" Arms risen high up over her head, Hunter came down atop her opponent, clashed metal with him, planted a foot in his face and shoved off into a flying leap backwards across the court again. "Ha!" Landing in a half-crouch, the girl grabbed at the floorboards and gouged a track in the floor to stop her backwards skid. She ran forward again.

Swing, block, stab, spin away, block, slice, slice, dodge, block, block, duck, attack, block, parry, block, block, jump away; it was a high-speed, blade clashing, sparking, life-and-limb dance the two performed. So far "Butthead" seemed to be the leading party. Suddenly Hunter felt a slicing, stinging pain on her lower left side. "Ahh!" Crying out, the sapphire eyed girl sank down to a knee, grabbing at said area. She pulled her hand away from her side to see it coated with energon. Her eyes widened. He'd cut her! Of course it was healing up quickly, so the injury was not going to be an issue at all, but still he'd cut her! That just fueled the teen's anger even more. Glowering back up at "Butthead", Hunter stood and swung her blades. She kept it up, swinging harder and fasted each time. While he was preoccupied with blocking she swept a leg out at his and took them out from under him. Her opponent hit the floor. Raising both sets of razors above her head she swung them down at once. "Rraahh!" The man moved to get up, raising up his sword in a desperate block. The blades connected. There was a deafening ring and an explosion of sparks and metal shards. Propelled backwards with the force of the blow, Hunter hit the floor and slowly sat up with a groan. She looked down at her still extracted razors. A barely audible, quivering gasp left her. Her razor blades… they'd been broken! Only the broken off, jagged-edged nubs of what had been foot long metal blades extended out from her knuckles now—nubs just barely long enough to stab someone if she needed to. Hunter's shock faded away into rage. That was it—she'd had enough of this crap!

Retracting what was left of her razors Hunter stood, clenched her fists, and, taking a deep breath, slammed them together. A pillar of blue fire exploded around her, almost seeming to ignite her entire body on fire, though neither she nor her clothes burned. Kicking her in speed once again, Hunter zoomed towards her opponent, stopping on a dime in front of him and slamming her flaming fists as hard and fast as she could against his face and torso. "Ha! Huh-huh! Hah! Hyah! Hrah!" Drawing a fist as far back as she was able, Hunter swung it forward, slamming a foot down into the floor to plant it there, and would have cracked the man across the jaw had a maroon-red energy orb not appeared around her oncoming fist, causing it to swing prematurely in front of her target. Hunter spun around and fell to the floor with the force behind the swing. "Whoa! Ugh!" The energy quickly moved from her fist to encase her whole body for a moment, extinguishing the flames flickering around her. In fact it almost seemed to reach within her and douse the very source of her pyrokinesis. Then the aura was gone, leaving Hunter feeling weak and dizzy. The front of her shirt was grabbed and she was jerked up off the floor and held face to face with her aggressor, staring wide-eyed down into his goggled gaze. Scrud….

"Butthead" grinned sinisterly, part of it visible through a burned section of his mask. He rumbled, "My turn." Tossing the teenager up in the air, the man jumped, flipped and kicked a leg out, slamming his foot into girl's middle.

"Whoa!" Hunter flew up into the air, crashing through a brace and a couple panes of the glass dome. She slammed into a stone pillar of the temple ruins atop the mountain before crashing to the ground, the top half of pillar itself crashing around in pieces around her. "Oof! Uh…." The redhead pushed herself up into a sitting position and shook her head. "Mmmm…." Reaching up she rubbed the back of her head, sucking in a sharp breath through her teeth. Dang! There was a poof followed by a whooshing sound and the next thing the young Fuser knew a hand was wrapped in a strangle hold around her throat and she was behind smashed back against the lower half of the pillar with such force a dent formed around her. Gasping and choking, Hunter grabbed at the gloved hand and desperately tried to pry it loose. "Frag!" she coughed out.

"I won't lie," "Butthead" growled as he slammed her back against the pillar again, "I've always been a bit of a brawler, so I enjoy a good fight, and—I have to tell you—this has been one of the best I've had in a long while. But I'm getting awful fed up with it now. Do both yourself and me a favor and come quietly!"

Hunter met his gaze and glared at him. "Take it and shove it, Butthead," she barely managed to get the words out.

"Nox," the man rumbled. "My name is Nox."

"Tell it to someone who cares," Hunter seethed. With that she kicked her feet up, braced them against her opponent's chest and forcefully him away. At the same time she did this, the teen also launched herself backwards through the stone pillar, through the next one after that and on down the line until she'd demolished the entire side. The temple came tumbling down.

Not able to get on his feet fast enough, Nox disappeared in a poof of smoke, just seconds before a large section of the stone structure came crumbling down atop him, and reappeared a few feet away. The man rose to his feet again, dusting himself off. As annoying as this all was, this girl definitely had fire and determination, he had to give her that much.

"Hhhaaahhh!"

"Huh?" Nox turned towards the wreckage and looked up to see a certain redhead soaring through the haze of dust towards him. Her foot came into contact with his face, knocking him back against a glass panel of the dome, causing it to crack. "Uh!" He chuckled and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, girl," he said. "You've made your point."

"Shut up!" Hunter roared, enraged fire dancing in the sapphire depths of her eyes. Picking up a large piece of pillar that was still intact, the sixteen-year-old easily hefted it over her shoulder then swung it towards Nox. "Hyah!" She batted him through the glass and over to the other side of the dome, successfully demolishing the rest of the skylight.

"Hey."

Hunter turned around to see "She-vis" standing there behind her. The girl's stomach dropped when she saw that not only was the woman standing there but so was Hawk, suspended in some sort of maroon-red energy-field. Growling, Hunter dropped the pillar and instinctively released her claws though they wouldn't be much good to her now. She stomped towards the woman.

"That's close enough," the woman stated. As incentive to make the teenager stop, she moved her hand, which was also surrounded by the same energy that was holding Hawk in place, towards the side of the mountain, holding the boy out over the drop off. It worked. Hunter stopped coming.

"Let him go, glitch," Hunter hissed.

"She-vis" giggled innocently. "Oh, I don't think you want me to do that," she replied, looking over at the terrified boy. "I do and he plummets to his death."

"You know what I mean," Hunter rumbled.

"Yes," the woman admitted with a nod. "I do. And not to worry, I will… on one condition." She looked at Hunter. "Surrender."

Hunter clenched her fists even more tightly, her lips pressing into a firm line. "And if I don't?" she challenged.

"She-vis'" voice was almost too cheerful as she answered, "This." With a flick of her hand, the energy that surrounded both her hand and Hawk disappeared and Hawk was falling.

"Hawk!" Hunter screamed, barreling towards the cliff. Without a second thought she dove over the side, nose-diving after Hawk down the mountainside through the clouds. Squinting her watering eyes against the wind, Hunter pressed her arms as close to her body as she could and practically melded her legs together in order to go fast. Hawk was right below her; just a few more feet and she'd have him. Closer…. Closer…. Almost…. Nearly…. There! The redhead reached out and grabbed her friend, holding him close. "Hang on!" she yelled above the roar of the wind. Hawk all but completely wrapped himself around her body—he didn't need to be told twice! Hunter angled them onto their sides and let one hand go of the older boy as she stretched her arm out back towards the cliff top, hand spread open. She aimed and fired. Her grapnel hook and cable shot out from her palm and spiraled upwards towards the cliff until it slammed into the rock and lodged there. Hunter reeled the cable tight and grabbed it. The two teens were snapped out of their freefall and were swinging through the air and into the side of the mountain, Hunter slamming her feet into the rock.

Hawk breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Thanks," he panted, looking over his shoulder down the mountainside. That was a _**long**_ way down—way too long for him to hope surviving it, even with his kinetic absorption.

"Consider it payment for coming to my rescue in the gym," Hunter replied. She smirked at him out of the corner of her eye and stated, "We're even now." Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, the redhead took a tighter hold of her cable, telling Hawk to hold on once again. Then she began reeling in her cable, running along with it until she could finally plant her foot on a small ledge and launch off that, using her pyrokinesis to propel herself up through the air. The duo landed on the mountaintop once more. Hearing applause, they stood and glared up at their opponents who were standing there atop the rubble.

"Not bad, kiddos," Nox praised them while he clapped. He stopped his applause and leaned down, bracing his forearms on one of his knees snarling, "But playtime's over." The man turned to the woman. "Umbra," he addressed her, motioning to the children, "why don't we take this battle to safer setting?" Umbra smirked and raised both hands in the air, waving them. Clouds of black smoke curled up and surrounded them all.

The next thing any of them knew they were down at the base of the mountain on the front lawns of the school. To make things even worse and more complicated there were hundreds of students and faculty around. Evidently they had started evacuating the school as per instructions. But now the fight they'd been evacuating from had just showed up right in the middle of them all—what an unfortunate twist that was.

"This is not good," Hawk murmured as he looked around at their crowd, all of whom had frozen in shock and were staring at them.

"Ya think?" Hunter replied, stomach plummeting until it completely bottomed out. So much for trying to keep this thing contained.

"Well," Nox laughed, stepping forward and holding his arms out as he took in the crowd around him, "now that we have an audience, what do you say, younglings? Round two?"

* * *

**Confession #29:**

** I just did some research and found out the 'Nox' is actually the name of the Roman goddess of the night. I named my male 'Nox' after a female. …Oh well.**

**Confession #30:**

** For those of you who are wondering, Hawk's abilities include: superstrength, hyperspeed, microscopic/telescopic vision (like all Hybrids do) and energy sourcing, kinetic absorption, concussion beams, and combustion-bending (yes, like from A:TLA).**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	10. A Nameless Danger

**Yay! Finally here! This took a little longer than I expected it to, but now it's finally done and posted, even if it is a little late. Here's your late birthday present, Alice! Happy (late) birthday/Merry (early) Christmas!**

**WolfAssassin369—Well, Optimus comes in here… but I don't think it's the way you wanted him to. And I am LOVING RWBY! Though I'm seriously ticked about the last episode! How could they do that Yang?!**

**AllSpark Princess—Hope this is "soon" enough to be labeled "as soon as possible". XD**

**Shadescribe—Like I already told you, you're just imagining things. Hawk and Hunter and just friends and that's all they're going to be. I have ideas for romances for them, just not with each other. ;)**

**Alice Gone Madd—I LOVE German Shepherds! **

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"You'll never know what hit you; won't see me closing in. I'm gonna make you suffer this hell you put me in! I'm underneath your skin…. The devil within…. You'll never know what hit you…" Digital Daggers; _The Devil Within_

10

Ω A Videlicet Periculosus Ω

(A Nameless Danger)

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

Optimus streaked into the main room of the base and headed straight for the ground-bridge controls. Something was wrong; there was trouble at Olympus High and Hunter was right in the middle of it. He needed to go there _**now**_! "Ratchet!" the Prime bellowed.

Coming out of the lab and spying his leader typing in coordinates at the ground-bridge console, the medic raised his optic ridges. What was going on now? Judging from Prime's rushed movements and the worried gleam in his optics—the only part of the mech's face that was visible since his mask was already up—it wasn't anything good. "Optimus, what's wrong?" he inquired coming over.

"Something is happening at Olympus High," Optimus explained, pulling the lever for the bridge, "and Hunter is right in the middle of it."

"What do you think it is?" Ratchet questioned, his concern for the girl growing.

"I'm not sure," Optimus answered, "but I am sure to find out when I arrive." The large, red and blue Autobot commander turned towards the ground-bridge as it powered up. "Be ready on standby, Ratchet," he informed the medic, looking down at him. "This could very well be an energon-bath. If there are multiple victims I may advise that they be brought here."

"Of course, Optimus," Ratchet answered with a nod.

"It may be a wise idea to call the team back as well."

"Will do."

The Prime nodded and turned back towards the bridge. He began running and transformed to his alternate mode mid-stride, an act that came easily after years and years of practice. The mech floored the gas pedal and peeled out of the room and into the ground-bridge. Barreling down the hard-light bridge, Optimus kept his sights on the end of the tunnel looking for the opening but that's where the issue arose. There wasn't an opening. Slamming on his brakes, Optimus transformed to his robotic form and stared in disbelief at the dead end before him. This was impossible! The ground-bride was supposed to open up and the coordinate destination not come to a dead end! Why was it stopping at a dead end?! Anger burning up through his anxiety the mech clenched a fist and let it fly at the wall, striking it as hard as he could as though he would be able to break through it. "Hunter!" he screamed. "_**Hunter!**_"

* * *

Olympus High;

Chuckling as he watched the two teenagers move into ready positions, their faces set in defiance and determination, Nox cracked his knuckles. Time to bring the pain! "What do ya say we switch dancing partners for a little while, Umbra?" he questioned the woman.

"Hmm, I like the idea of that, Nox," Umbra hummed, the sound of a sadistic smirk in her voice. Behind her red-lensed goggles she set her sights on Hunter and examined her, looking for any clues and details that would help her in the fight. Evidently the girl's face was a weak spot: Even though she clearly possessed a healing factor she still bared a scar across her left eye. Anything in the face area would better her odds of winning.

"Word of advice," Nox suggested, "keep her on the defensive as much as possible."

"Roger that," Umbra responded. With that, she drew her sword again and lunged for Hunter. "Hrah!" Raising her weapon high above her head the masked woman soared through the air and came down atop the sixteen-year-old redhead, swinging her weapon down. "Hah!" The red and silver blade dug into the earth as Hunter quickly leapt back out of the way. Pulling her sword free, Umbra advanced again.

While Umbra went to work at taking care of the girl, Nox turned his undivided attention on the boy. "Looks like it's just you and me, son," he state, stepping forward. Hawk's face hardened and he brought his fists up around his face. Nox chuckled at that. "Hit me with your best shot, boy," he practically ordered, coming well within Hawk's striking distance and stood there unmoving and unflinching, arms completely extended to the side.

Hawk raised an eyebrow curiously, but decided to take the shot. "Huh!" He threw a fist forward but hit nothing but a cloud of smoke for his efforts. "Wha-ah!" He was suddenly struck on the cheek. Caught off guard, the eighteen-year-old hit the ground, just barely catching himself before he faceplanted into it. After shaking off the daze he chuckled darkly. "Go ahead," he grunted, looking over his shoulder as he got to his feet and turned to face his opponent. "Hit me again as hard as you can, old man. I _**dare**_ you."

Now, Nox was a bit caught off guard by this reaction, but since he was a brawler at hard and teen had asked so nicely he obliged him. He punched Hawk as hard as he could again. When the boy stumbled away but still remained on his feet and smiled back up at him, the man came again with another punch. And again. And again. He came one more time but it was then that Hawk caught his fist in his hand and held it off. Nox's eyes widened behind his goggles when he finally took notice of the purple aura that had been building around Hawk with each hit he'd delivered. The boy was a kinetic absorber and redirector. "Aw, frag…."

Hawk slammed his fist again Nox's face, and sent him flying backwards.

"Huh! Uh! Hah!" Hunter ducked, spun, and back handsprung through the crowd of screaming students and faculty out of the way as Umbra came at her slashing away with her sword and dagger. The teen groaned and quietly cursed. Umbra was keeping her on the defensive and that wasn't a good thing; defensive tactics weren't her strong suit. If she had any hope of winning this fight she needed to switch over to offense ASAP, but her opponent was doing and excellent job of preventing that from happening. To make it even worse, Hunter didn't even have blades to fight with anymore and Umbra had _**two**_. Who would you say was in the better position here?

Umbra chuckled as she kept slashing her way towards Hunter, forcing the redhead to continue backing up with each advance. If she could just get the girl cornered…. "Come on, little girl," the woman chuckled darkly. "I thought you enjoyed a good fight. Yah!" She jabbed.

"Huh!" Hunter dodged. "I enjoy—ah!" she spun away from another blade, "—a good _**fair**_ fight. Yai!" The young Hybrid quickly moved into a backbend to avoid another attack before kicking her feet up and over, standing up, and moving into another back handspring. Bending over backwards again she rested all of her weight on her arms and vaulted up and away from Umbra landing atop the statue that stood before the school. "And I know you don't care," the teen want on, panting ever so slightly, "but you're not fighting fair at all, Umbra."

"You're right," the masked woman responded, lowering her blades for a moment. "I'm not playing fair." She was gone in the poof of smoke.

Hunter remained at her perch, quickly glancing around to find her opponent when her nerves tingled. Gasping, the redhead just barely had enough time to activate her shield before a foot slammed into it, knocking her off the statue. "Whoa-oh! Oof!" Hunter slammed into the steps of the school, leaving a small crater. Shaking her head, she turned wide-eyes back up on the statue to see Umbra crouching there.

"And you wanna know something, kid?" Umbra asked. "I don't care." With that she jumped up in the air and came back down atop Hunter, a foot extended to make contact.

Hunter rolled out of the way and was up on her feet before that could happen. Shield still activated she held it up to block Umbra's sword as she swung it again, the impact rippling the pale blue force field. When the woman drew her blade back to swing again, that's when Hunter acted. Charging forward, she slammed her shield against Umbra. "Hah!" Before her opponent had a chance to recover she did it again harder. "Hrah!" She charged a third time, but this time Umbra managed to catch the shield and hold it off, pushing it back on Hunter and rotating it to the left. With a grunt, the woman hoisted the shield up over her head and twisted around until she'd brought it behind Hunter's back and pinned her arm there, sharply jerking it upward. Hunter cried out in pain as her shoulder objected. To free herself she released the shield from her generator and feel forward to the ground, grabbing at her shoulder and rubbing it.

Growling, Umbra threw down the shield, the thing disappearing into thin air before it hit the ground. She knelt down and grabbed Hunter's hair. With a jerk she drew the girl up on her knees and unsheathed her dagger once again, positioning it so that she wouldn't be able to stab the girl, but could still hit her with the metal section that wrapped around the back of her hand when she held. She bashed that metal against Hunter's face, hard. "Rah!"

"Ahh!" Hunter fell to the ground again seeing stars. A nasty welt angled across her right cheek and the bridge of her nose began to rise. The girl was still in a daze when her shoulder was trapped in a strong grip and she was once against jerked up off the ground. For a moment she was being held by the shoulders, staring into Umbra's face. Then her head collided with Umbra's. "Ack!" Without warning, the teen was thrown, crashing through the statue and falling to the ground, rolling a few feet before finally coming to a stop. Hunter groaned the world spinning around her.

"Hmph," Umbra snorted, staring at the girl and shaking her head, a hand on her hip. "Pathetic. Truly pathetic. I was hoping for an actual challenge here." She began to march down the steps towards the teenager. When she finally came upon the girl, Umbra knelt down and seized one of her ankles before turning and dragging her across the cement towards the school. Finally she stopped and flung Hunter into the air towards the mountain.

Adrenaline hitting her system, Hunter flailed around for a moment before finally managing to get her bearings. Flipping around, she slammed into the side of the mountain feet first, her legs taking the brunt of the impact. A crater formed around her. Crouching into the mountainside, Hunter pushed all of her own strength and force down into her legs and exploded off the mountain, using her pyrokinesis to propel her even faster and more powerfully. "Hhhhhhaaaaaahhhhh!" Drawing a fist back, the teen planned on planting it in her opponent's head but her plans were quickly changed.

Sidling away from Hunter's punch, Umbra shot a hand up and grabbed the sixteen-year-old by the face, swung her up and slammed her back down into the cement. "You're so predictable," she sighed to the girl before yanking her back up and throwing her back at the school again.

"Whoa!" This time Hunter crashed through a window of a class room and slammed into the opposing wall causing part of it to crumble and tumble down, burying her.

In a cloud of smoke Umbra appeared in the room. Hands folded behind her back, the woman strode across to the pile of rubble and, swiping a hand out over the pile, moved every last piece of debris off of the teenager and over into a nice "neat" pile in the other corner of the room. She turned to the prone and moaning girl. Chuckling Umbra knelt down and once again seized Hunter by both shoulders before standing up and hoisting the redhead up into the air so that her feet wouldn't touch the floor. "What's wrong, Hunter?" she teased in a patronizing tone. "Growing tired? Not that I blame you, really, considering the trouble you gave Nox earlier, but still, I would have thought you possessed more stamina than this. Or perhaps you aren't the warrior you're claimed to be."

"Take it… and shove it," Hunter panted, swallowing hard. She shot a meek glare down at her opponent, a slight trickle of energon departing from the corner of her mouth.

Umbra laughed. "You are quite the little cheeky minx, has anyone ever told you that?" Without warning the woman sped across the room and slammed Hunter up against wall. "Not to worry," she assured the girl, "we'll beat that out of you." A glimmer of light suddenly caught Umbra's eye and she looked down from Hunter's face to her chest to see the wolf's head necklace the Prime had given her. She chuckled darkly, "Well, well, well, what have we here?" With that, the masked woman grabbed the chain and ripped it off the girl's neck, dropping her to the floor as she did. Walking away a bit, Umbra held it up to the light to get a better look and was silent for a moment, simply admiring the necklace's simplistic beauty. Then she turned her gaze back on Hunter. "From someone special, no doubt," she remarked with a smirk. "Perhaps your Prime?"

Grunting, Hunter pushed herself up onto all fours and rubbed at the back of her head, wincing slightly. After she shook her head she looked up at Umbra. The Fuser's gaze locked on a string of silver in the woman's hand and stayed there, her sapphire blue eyes widening. Her necklace…. Umbra was holding her necklace! As if to make sure that the woman was indeed holding her necklace and not a copy, Hunter quickly raised a hand and felt around her throat for the wolf's head trinket. It wasn't there. Umbra had taken her necklace! And just like that Hunter could feel every last bit of anger and ire surge inside of her like Mount Vesuvius. In an explosion of blue fire Hunter off the floor, on her feet, and surging towards Umbra. "Huh!" The teen practically body slammed the woman, sending her flying and lodging into the wall. But that wasn't enough. It would take a lot more than that to relieve Hunter's rage and it was a good thing she had an opponent who—while not quite as indestructible as Nox seemed—could take a hit. Crouching down slightly, the red head clenched her fists tightly and lunged off the floor, using her pyrokinesis as well as her own strength to do so. "Hhhhaaaahhhh!" Hunter drew a fist back and smashed it right into Umbra's face, causing the woman to fly through the wall and fly through several more before finally lodging into one again.

"Ugh…." Raising a hand to her head and shaking it, Umbra pushed herself out of the hole only to collapse to the floor like a ragdoll, just barely managing to stop herself from faceplanting. She finally managed to get on her feet. Staggering a bit, the woman had to clutch on to the wall to keep herself from falling until she could get her bearings back, but she didn't have that kind of time. Hunter wasn't finished with her yet.

Kicking in her hyperspeed, Hunter was standing before Umbra in barely the blink of an eye and slamming her fist into the woman's face again, knocking her away from the wall and to the center of the room. "Hrah!" She waited until Umbra was up on her feet and then attacked again. Leaping off the floor, the young Hybrid soared past the older and punched her again before coming into contact with the opposing wall. She shoved off that and came back at Umbra, faster this time, with a harder hit. Hunter kept this up, lunging back and forth from wall to wall going faster and faster each time until she was barely even a blur with her hyperspeed, slamming her fists and feet against Umbra, forcing the woman to spin like a twister. "Hah! Hyah! Uh! Nyah! Huh! No!-body! Takes! My! Necklace! Rrraahhh!" Finally Hunter jumped to the ceiling and stood atop the ceiling fan fixture there. She watched on as her opponent spun out before finally collapsing to the floor in a groaning, moaning, heaving heap. It was then she jumped down from the fan. Landing right atop Umbra, she drove the Hybrid down through the floor into the class room below and through that floor to the next room below, smashing her into the tile below her. With a growl, Hunter reached down, seized Umbra by the face, and picked her up off the floor before reaching out and snatching the trinket and chain, that her opponent had somehow managed to keep a hold of, back. Baring her teeth, Hunter held up the necklace. "_**Mine**_!" she hissed frighteningly. "Hoo-ahh!" With that, the sixteen-year-old turned and threw Umbra through the wall and the very side of the mountain.

Umbra plummeted, screaming, until she slammed into the pavement below. Groaning she quivered for a moment appearing as though she was trying to get back up, but then she fell still and silent. A few seconds later her body seemed to dissolve into a thousand tiny stars that were quickly blown away on the breeze, vanishing into thin air.

"Like I said," Hunter murmured, watching on as Umbra dissolved away, "nobody takes my necklace." Hunter turned to her tightly clenched fist and raised it before opening it to reveal her necklace. The trinket had been clasped so tightly in her grip that it had left a very deep and visible imprint in her palm, something which only seemed to help enunciate the fact that the necklace was hers and would not be taken from her. Hearing an explosion, Hunter looked up. It looked like Hawk could use some help with Nox. Quickly putting the necklace back on, Hunter jettisoned into the sky, streaking straight for the conflict.

"Oof! Ugh! Uh…." Hawk hit the ground and tumbled head over heels backwards before finally skidding to a stop. The world spun around him as he laid there prone on the ground, groaning and moaning and trying to put his thoughts back together and remember which way was up and down. Okay. Clearly he needed to work on his combustion-bending more.

Coughing, Nox came walking through the smoke, waving a hand in front of his face to fan the smoke and dust away. "Have to hand it to you, son," he said, clearing his throat, "you're tougher than you look at first glance." A sneer creased the man's visible and slightly burned lips. "Of course, as first glance you don't look tough at all so, that's not really saying much." Hawk was still in too much of a haze to reply. Nox chuckled and continued stalking towards the young man, unsheathing his sword as he did so. "Oh, this is almost too easy." Coming to stand over Hawk, the older Hybrid raised his blade and prepared to stab it down through the boy's spark.

"Nox!"

Pausing in his attack, Nox turned and looked up at the sound of his name. When he saw what it was coming his way the man cursed and quickly swung his sword up over his head, broad-side facing up, hand braced against the bottom of it. He barely had enough to do it.

An asteroid crashing down from the sky Hunter came down atop Nox, slamming down into a crouch on his sword. "Hrah!" The red blade bent slightly under her weight but held fast. Nox shoved her away, helping to launch the teenager into the air as she jumped away as well. "Huh!" Flying backwards, the girl punched her fists out, sending large, hot blue fireballs in her opponent's direction in quick sequence. "Hyah! Huh! Huh! Uh!" Most of the attack Nox managed to block or dodge, but she was lucky in hitting him a few times, causing him to be knocked off his feet. Back-flipping, Hunter landed on the ground and went skidding backwards, legs splayed wide and a hand against the ground to help drag herself to a stop. Then she was up and running, shattering through the sound-barrier as she went hyper. With a sonic boom she came back out of it on a dime in front of Nox, fists flying. "Ha! Huh! Uh! Rah!"

Nox dodged them all, backing up a little each time as he did, until—"Ugh!"—he was smacked across the face a foot and hit the ground. Groaning, the man, pushed himself onto all fours and spat out a mouthful of energon and a few teeth before getting back up to his feet. That was it! This has gone on for too long—he'd had enough of it! Time to end this thing. He faced Hunter again as he began walking to his left, forcing the girl to circle around to her right at the same time. "You think you're so good, don't you?" Nox rumbled, his voice accusing. "Being the Fuser with all that power and everyone fawning over you and falling at your feet—you just think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread." The girl said nothing. "Well, I have some news for you, youngling," he continued on. "You're not that great. You're just a pretty little girl with a great big power inside of you that you have absolutely no idea how to control pretending to have it all together." Nox snorted. "Well, you may have everyone else fooled here, but not me. I can see right through you." He was baiting her.

Hunter snarled, fists clenching even tighter. "Yeah?" she challenged darkly. "Good. You won't see this coming then. Hoo-ahh!" Hunter let a fist surge forward in a blur, intending to plant it against the man's jaw, but her plan was quickly changed as he caught it and spun her around. He forced her down to kneel on the ground while he bent her arm back with a hand on her shoulder. A sickening crackle came from the joint. "Ahhh!" Hunter cried out. Gritting her teeth, the young Hybrid braced her other hand on the ground and pushed up enough to kick off and go up into a handstand. Yanking her hand away from Nox, Hunter spun around on her hands to that her back was to the man before swinging her legs down and wrapping them around his neck. She then sat up against his chest. In prime position, the girl grabbed the top of his head to keep it in place as she punched him in the face repeatedly with her free fist. "Huh! Huh! Rah!" Hunter grabbed the sword out of his scabbard and bent over backwards. She braced her hands against the ground and kicked her legs over, letting go of Nox as she did and throwing him towards the school. "Hah!" Then she was on her feet and lunging at him again, leaping onto a picnic table and then into the air with the sword gripped in both hands and raised high above her head. "Ahhhh!" She swung the sword down, ready to cleave its owner in half.

Nox kicked his feet up and together and braced them against the blade, stopping it. The concussion of the impact caused an explosion, sending rocks, dirt, plants around them flying in all direction to leave the earth bare and a good space of the school yard that they stood on to cave into the ground ever so slightly. Nox sneered and chuckled. "Not today, sweet-spark. Huh!" He swiped Hunters legs out from under her, subsequently causing the girl to let go for the sword as she did, before leaping to his feet. Picking up the sword, the man came over to the girl, who was starting to get back up, and slammed his foot into her chest, driving her to the ground with such force a crater formed around her. With that he braced his sword against the ground like a cane and knelt down, forcing all of his considerable weight down onto Hunter's chest and making it difficult for her to draw breath. He got right into her face. "It sure is a good thing you're the Fuser," he remarked, brushing some hair out of the gasping and struggling child's face, "because it's pretty clear to me that the only way I'm going to get you back to the Mistress is by bringing you on the ship _**dead**_."

Hunter's eyes widened in fear and she struggled harder. No! She didn't want to die again—not like this!

Chortling sinisterly, Nox stood back up again and twirled his sword around his fingers until it was once again pointing downwards towards Hunter's head. As an extra precaution the man stepped on the girl's wrist with his other foot. Then he drove the sword down.

Desperate, Hunter reached up with her free hand and grabbed the blade with it, wincing as the scalpel-like edges sliced and bit into her flesh. She held it off, energon oozing between her fingers and trickle down the blade to drip between her eyes. Hunter wasn't sure how long she'd be able to do this. As if the blade cutting into her hand wasn't bad enough, her energon was making it slippery and hard to hold on to; she could feel it slipping through her grip bit by bit, coming closer.

Grinning demonically, Nox leaned all of his weight on the sword hilt, forcing it closer. "You can't fight me, girl," he hissed. All at once he was blasted in the back and sent flying forward into the side of the mountain.

With the weight on her chest gone, Hunter gasped for air only to begin coughing as she inhaled to deeply. After a moment she sat up, wiping her now healed hand on what was left of her gym pants to clean it of the energon. Rubbing her throat and still breathing deeply, the teen looked up across the way to see Hawk back on his feet again and she smiled, realizing he'd come to her aid yet again. She waved to him as she called out, "Thanks!" Then she leapt to her feet and turned towards the school, eyes locking in on the hold Nox created as he'd been blasted through the side. She marched towards it.

Coughing, Nox stumbled his way out of the room he'd been blown into and back out the open air, fanning the dust away from his face. Without warning he was grabbed by the throat, swung around, and slammed back against the mountain side again, rock crumbling down around him from the impact. He looked up to see the Fuser standing there before him again. Now, Nox wasn't exactly one to scare easily—he was as mentally and emotionally unshakable as he was physically—but the look he saw in the sixteen-year-old's eyes right then quaked him to the very core. This would not end well.

As if to prove his point Hunter rumbled, "I don't know about you, but I am done playing games." She pulled him out of the mountain only to bash him into it again. "Hrah!" Letting go of his throat, the redhead gripped the man's shoulder armor and turned her gaze upwards towards the sky. Hunter placed a foot on the wall and exploded off the ground, dragging Nox through the mountain as she ran up the side of it. "Ahhhhhhhh! Yah!" When she'd dragged him through the very top of the peak the young Hybrid threw the man skyward with all of her might only to fly up after him to punch and kick him higher and higher.

For what it was worth, Nox fought back as best he could, but it was hard to focus on fighting when he was falling to his ultimate demise… or soon would be. He may have been resilient, but he wasn't _**that **_resilient! Luckily for him, Hunter was too busy at the moment keeping him aloft by hitting him rather than letting him plummet back to earth. But that was all about to change.

Pulling back from her onslaught, Hunter flipped over backwards and kicked her foot out, planting the heel of her shoe beneath Nox's chin and kicking him even higher skyward. "Hrah!"

"Whoa!" Nox flew right up through the cracked open dome into the early morning sky. He just barely had enough time to glance off towards the sunrise that was just starting to come into the sky before Hunter above him, preparing to make the final blow.

Clasping both fists together, Hunter drew them above her head and far back before swinging them forward and down to slam them into Nox' back. "Hah!" She created a simultaneous explosion with the hit to increase the force tenfold.

Falling faster than he could scream, Nox was driven downwards: Down through the dome, shattering a large section of, down through the clouds, and down into the school yard, smashing into the ground with such force a ripple went through the school yard, tearing it up. A large dusty mushroom cloud rose up from the site of impact.

Cutting the flames keeping her aloft, Hunter freefell back down towards the ground before catching herself with her pyrokinesis again and landing in a crouch near the edge of the crater Nox's impact had caused. She marched towards the edge and looked down into it. There, a three hundred feet deep in the ground, laid Nox, still and unmoving. At first Hunter wasn't sure if he was dead or alive. When she saw his body begin to dissolve the same way Umbra's had, the sixteen-year-old knew he was the former.

Hearing the sound of an engine taking off, Hunter turned and looked up to see one of the enemies ships—the only one that was still intact—flying away high up above through the opening at the top of the dome and disappearing Hopefully to never be seen again. And with that the enemy was defeated and gone. In one fell swoop all of the adrenaline in Hunter's body was flushed out, leaving her completely wiped and more than a little sore even _**with **_her healing factor. Sighing Hunter stumbled away from the edge of the crater and fell backwards, collapsing to the ground. "Ugh!" She flopped over on her back, arms stretched out over her head as she panted hard. "Well…" she murmured, swallowing hard, "… that… was a thing."

* * *

"You know," Sunny mused as she sat on the window sill of the nurse's office, looking out onto the damaged front lawn of the school and the massive crater that was being examined by many of the professors that worked at the school but also the Hybrid SWAT team, "in the beginning I wasn't sure why Primus had chosen you to be the Fuser, Hunter." She looked over at the girl who was filling out some more interview questions for Star. "Now I can understand exactly why."

Hunter snorted and looked up from her work. "Good," she replied. "I'm glad someone understands why I'm the Fuser, since I still don't completely understand why Primus picked me."

"It's because you're awesome," Hawk explained, trying to keep as still as possible as the school nurse stitched up a nasty gash above his eyebrow, "that's why."

Hunter laughed. "Well, I'm not sure about that, but thanks, Hawk."

"Do you not like being the Fuser?" Star questioned, giving Hunter a look.

Sighing, Hunter set down the pen and notebook and sat back on the counter. "Well…" she began, trying to think of how to put her feelings all into perspective, "… I guess I wouldn't say that exactly. I mean, there are some really great perks to having this title. But I guess I can't say I really like being the Fuser either. So I'm… somewhere in between. My feelings on being the Fuser vary depending on the situation; let's just put it that way." The girl smiled and giggled before going on to say, "What I _**do **_know for certain is that when I get home I'm going to take a hot bubble-bath and soak in it for about three hours no matter what anyone says!"

Hawk lifted a hand and gave a thumb's-up. "Amen to that," he praised.

All four teens laughed.

That's when the door opened and Principal Darkholm came into the room. He gazed at them for a moment before turning to look behind him and motioned towards the children. "In here, Mr. Prime," he said. With that Optimus' holoform came rushing into the room.

Practically throwing down the pen and notebook, Hunter stood up on the counter, took two steps and leapt towards her father. "Dad!" she exclaimed. The redhead wrapped her arms around his neck as he caught her and held her close and tight, letting her sapphire blue eyes drift closed as she nuzzled into his neck. Relief that she didn't know her body needed flooded into her spark through their link and surged out through her limbs, making her feel even safer.

"Are you all right?" Optimus inquired, sounding beyond worried. The Prime was even shaking a bit as he hugged his daughter to him, stroking her hair and back with a gentle hand.

"I'm fine," Hunter assured him, voice muffled by her shoulder. "I'm fine." Much to the femmling's surprise, she was quivering as well, and not just because her spark-father was holding her and he was shaking. Apparently her nerves had been a little more wracked than she'd cared to admit. "I'm fine." She held the holoform tighter, glad her father was here, even if it was just the synthetic version of him.

Sighing, Optimus set his little girl down on the floor and held her at arm's length to meet her eye-to-eye. "Hunter, Sweet-spark, I am so sorry," he apologized. "I tried to come to your aid but something was blocking the ground-bridge frequency to prevent it from opening up here. Ratchet and I kept trying but it only just now worked. I am so sorry, My Shooting Star."

Hunter smiled at him in reassurance and cupped his cheek with her hand, lovingly stroking the holoform's cheekbone with her thumb. "It's okay, Daddy," she murmured softly. "I know you would've come if you could have."

"Are you sure you are fine?" Optimus questioned, looking her over. "Nothing hurt or broken?"

"Not anymore anyway," Hunter giggled. Optimus could be such a worry-wart when it came to her and her well-being. Not that she minded, honestly. "I'm okay, Dad," she repeated. "But, honestly, I'm a lot better now that you're here."

Her father smiled lovingly and gently brushed her cowlick to the side before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Awwww!"

"Oh, shut up, guys!" Hunter exclaimed turning around to playfully scowl at her friends. Giggling, she wrapped an arm around her father as he did the same to her and motioned towards the others in the room. "Dad," she sighed, "let me introduce you to my new friends. That's Sunny Khim."

"Hi!" Sunny chirruped brightly as she waved at Optimus with a winning smile.

"And those two are Star and Hawk Washington."

"How do you do?" Star greeted performing a slight curtsy.

"Sir," Hawk nodded at the same time.

Optimus nodded back to all of them with a smile. "Children."

"Guys, this is my spark-father, Optimus Prime," Hunter introduced the Autobot to them all. Then she turned to her father and informed him, "Dad, Hawk was the one who battled with me today. Saved my life, too."

"Yeah, well, you saved mine first," Hawk reminded her. As the nurse finished up stitching his eyebrow the young man stood up.

Optimus moved towards him. "Thank you," he said, "for helping my daughter." He offered his hand.

Hawk took and shook it. "It was nothing, sir," he brushed it off.

Optimus smiled and warmly clasped Hawk's hand between both of his. "On the contrary, son," he countered, "it was everything to me."

"Might as well just take the gratitude, Hawk," Hunter told the boy with a smirk and arms crossed over her chest. "He'll never let you go until you truly realize just how important what you did was."

Letting go of Hawk's hand, Optimus turned to face his daughter with his hands on his hips and a smirk of his own curling his holoform's lips. "You make it seem as though I am—as you Earthlings say—"a drama queen"."

Hunter tilted her head back and perched a fist on a cocked hip as she smiled teasingly up at the Autobot commander. "Mmm, more like a "drama _**king**_" I would say," she joked. She giggled as Optimus gave her a look. "But you're _**my **_drama king," the girl added. "So it's all good."

Optimus snorted in amusement, reached out, and pulled his child to him. "Come here, you little imp," he playfully growled, embracing her once more. He noogied her.

"Ugh! Rrr! Dad! Come on!" Hunter growled and complained as she strained to pull away from him. However, she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it.

"Am I interrupting anything?" a sudden voice paused all activity and drew everyone's attention to the door.

"Hey, Doc," Hunter greeted him, even with her head tucked under her father's arm. She pulled away and moved towards the door. "Come on in. Um, Dad, this is Dr. Atlas Bartholomew." She watched as the males said hello and shook hands in greeting. "Atlas is going to be my substitute Fuser mentor for a few weeks," she continued on, feeling a twinge of pain and even some anger as she remembered once again that Greasy was going to be here for a while.

"Oh?" The look on Optimus' face said he too was confused and maybe slightly worried by these new turns of events. "And why is that?"

"That, my dear Mr. Prime, is without a doubt the question of the day," Atlas answered in his rapid-fire tone. "I myself am still wondering why. All I can tell you is that Mr. Coggs departed on the outer space mission today that will subsequently pull him away for several weeks. As a result, he has chosen me to take over Hunter's training regimen while he is away."

Optimus stood there, silent, for a long time, glowing blue holoform eyes wide as if he were in a daze. After a moment he slowly turned to look at Hunter.

"Yeah," Hunter nonchalantly replied to his silent observation, "I know. He's a machine gun mouth. We're gonna have to get another coffee-pot for the base to start brewing decaf while he's around."

"Speaking of being around," Atlas went on, turning his attention to Hunter, "Hunter I have some questions to ask you the days' events."

Hunter shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest again. "Shoot."

"I probably already know the answer to this," the doctor sighed, "but do you know who these people were by any chance?"

"On what level?" the sixteen-year-old asked back.

"Any level really," the man replied. "Names, faces, who they might work for. I've tried finding out this information myself but every one of them that survived the attack are unconscious and don't appear to be gaining consciousness again anytime soon. And as for those that perished… well… they're bodies are no longer here."

"They disintegrated," Hunter concluded. "Just vanished into thin air, right?"

"Yes, that about sums it up."

"Yeah, Nox and Umbra did the same thing when I took them out." The girl sighed heavily. "Aside from Nox and Umbra's names I don't know anything about these people, Doc. I've never seen them before in my life and they didn't mention anything useful about who they might be working for. Nox said something about a "mistress" but that could be anything. What about you, Hawk?" Hunter questioned her friend. "Did you hear anything or did they say anything to you?"

"I got nothin'," Hawk shrugged. "Whoever they were, though, they were skilled fighters. They had to have had lots of advanced training."

"And they weren't afraid to go lethal either," Hunter added, turning back to Atlas. "Umbra dropped Hawk over the side of the mountain without a second thought and Nox was bound and determined to run me through in order to take me captive." The redhead snorted drily and looked down at the floor as she ran a hand through her hair. "And here I was all ready to put murderous psychopaths behind me," she mumbled mostly to herself. She pressed against her spark-father's side as he wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"Hmm," Atlas hummed stroking his chin in thoughtfulness for a long time. "Well, that gives me more to work with, but still doesn't tell me what I want to know." He looked at Hunter again. "You're positive you'd never seen these people before?"

Hunter nodded. "I mean, they all had masks on and whatnot, but I didn't recognize the armor or any of their voices or anything," she responded. "But they certainly knew who I was. Not that that's really that big of a surprise; it seems like all my enemies know who I am before they meet me." A chill ran down Hunter's spine at the thought. She absolutely hated when that happened: it was just so disturbing!

"What do you suggest we do, Dr. Bartholomew?" Optimus questioned. People were after his daughter again—bad people. The sooner they could come to a plan of how to protect Hunter the better. He wouldn't be able to power-down somewhat peacefully until then.

Once again Atlas was quiet, thinking all this over and trying to decide what to do about it. What they needed to do what find out who these people were and who they worked for: Once they'd done that then they would know exactly how to keep the Fuser safe. But that wasn't going to be an easy task. They knew next to nothing about these people right now and until they could find out more information about them the top priority was to try and protect the Fuser as best as they already could. Once she was safe they could devote the rest of their resources to finding these people. "At this current juncture," Bartholomew sighed heavily as he rubbed the back of his neck, "the best suggestion I can think of is to keep Hunter home. If she stays home—particularly inside—nobody will be able to detect her energy signature. If nobody can detect her energy signature then they will not be able to come after her."

"So you want to hide me away?" Hunter questioned accusingly, backing away slightly. "Only for a short while, Huntress," Atlas assured her calmly. "Just until we can find out who these people are and what they want with you."

"And how long will that take?" Hunter inquired harshly. "Oh, wait, you don't know do you? Atlas, it could take you a few days to find who these psychos are, or it could take you a few _**years**_. And I'm just supposed to sit and wait at the base till then? I can't do that! Whether I like it or not, I am the Fuser and the universe needs me! I can't sit around on my hands when the fates of Cybertron and the Hybrid people are counting on me. And what about my team? There's only a handful of us against hundreds of Decepticons; we need every 'bot we can spare out there on the field when we go into battle! What, you expect me to just sit back and wave while my team—my _**family**_—goes off into danger? I can't do that—I _**won't **_do that!"

"Hunter…" Optimus voice was smooth and gentle as he tried to calm her.

"Hunter, I am not asking you to renounce your title or abandon your team," Atlas explained. "All I am asking is that you think about your own safety and protection. Think about it: What happens to Cybertron and the Hybrids if you are abducted and taken away by an unknown threat? What happens to your family if that happens—your _**father**_? You'll be of no use to anyone except your abductors if this happens and do you honestly believe that have the good of the universe in mind? Because I don't! Hunter, we are going to find out who these people are and we are going to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible, but you have to help us by laying low for a while. In fact you won't only be helping us by doing this but you will be helping everyone else by assuring that their savior is safe and secure. Is that not worth house arrest for a short period?"

The teenager was silent for a moment, thinking this over. Either she sit at home and help those that needed her by protecting herself or she said "screw the protection" and did her own thing, thus increasing her chances to be taken. In her eyes, it was lose-lose either way. After a long, long, _**long **_moment of contemplation, the redhead sighed and nodded. "All right, fine," she conceded. "I'll do it."

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

It was about ten o'clock, and Optimus Prime was seated in the large, cement easy chair in the corner of his room, a data pad in hand. He was carefully studying the different sections of footage from Olympus High's security cameras, looking for anything that could be a clue as to who Hunter's attackers were. So far he wasn't finding anything.

Already in her pajamas and brushed her half-wet long, fiery hair, Hunter came into the room. "Hey," she let the mech know she was there.

"Did you have a nice bath?" Optimus questioned by way of acknowledgement, not looking away from the data pad. His voice sounded far away and preoccupied.

"Sure did," Hunter answered. "You would not believe how much more relaxed I feel now." Walking over to the door that led into her room, the teen chucked her brush inside and turned back towards her spark-father. She went over to him, transforming to her robotic form as she did. With a sigh, she half-fell over the arm of his chair and half-laid down in his lap, curling up and snuggling there. Optimus subconsciously wrapped an arm around her to hold her closer but he still wasn't diverting much attention from his data pad. Hunter took notice. "What'cha watchin'?" she chirped like a small child, scooting around into a different, more comfortable position. When the Prime didn't answer she looked up at him. "Dad?"

Still no reply.

Wow. He was _**really **_absorbed. At that realization Hunter smirked, knowing this was a chance to have some fun with her spark-father and not being the type of daughter to pass it up. "So, uh, Dad," she said, snuggling closer, "I know I've never really mentioned this to you, but… I've always wanted to get a tattoo. Would it be okay if I did that?" No reply. "In fact could I just by chance get my whole body tattooed?" Still nothing. "Because, uh, see I met this guy at school. He's super cute and everything but he really has this thing for girls with tatts and I thinking getting the tattoos would really impress him." Zip. "He even told me he would marry me and we could get matching tattoos." Nada. "Which is a good thing since, um… I'm pregnant with his baby." Not even so much as a flinch! Unbelievable! "Dad!"

"Huh? Hmm? What's that?" Optimus snapped out of his stupor and blinked before looking down at the scarlet and black-and-silver striped femmling in his lap.

Hunter laughed. "Wow, you were out of it!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "I made up this whole story about getting tattoos to impress a guy into marrying me because I was carrying his baby and you didn't even bat an optic."

Optimus smiled apologetically. "I am sorry, My Shooting Star," he murmured, petting her head. "I am rather distracted at the moment."

"I can tell," Hunter snorted. "What are you doing?"

Sighing, Optimus looked at the data pad and waved it as he motioned to it. "I am reviewing the security footage I requested from your school," he explained.

"Still?" Hunter inquired.

Optimus nodded.

"Have you found anything?"

Another sigh and a shake of the head. "Unfortunately not," the Prime murmured. "The only thing I am able to find that could possibly lead to the identity of these people are these symbols." Touching the data pad screen with a thumb and forefinger, Optimus zoomed in on the insignias in question. They were both made out of lazy crescent-moons, the only difference was the pattern they were in. On the uniforms of the men bared the pattern where the black moon appeared above the red. The uniforms of the woman bared just the opposite. "Do these symbols seem familiar to you?"

Hunter studied them both for a minute before shaking her head and sigh. "No. But they have to mean something."

"The question is 'what'?" Optimus stated.

There was a long pause of quiet before Hunter finally decided to break it. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"What… what happens if we don't find these people?"

"We will."

"But what if we don't?"

"Then we keep searching and using every available resource until we do for however long it takes."

"What about me then?" Hunter asked softly. "Do I just… sit here for however long it takes to find them?"

"Yes," Optimus answered brusquely. "The base is the only place I can assure your security. As such you will stay here until we do find these people."

"No matter the situation? I mean… what if I have to restore Cybertron tomorrow? Am I just expected to stay here and not do what I'm supposed to do as the Fuser?"

Optimus sighed with tried patience. "Hunter, I can assure you that you will not be restoring Cybertron tomorrow."

"Well, it doesn't even have to be just that," Hunter quickly said. "What if the Decepticons decide to try and conquer Earth tomorrow? What if a giant asteroid comes flying right at the planet and I'm the only one who can stop it? Do I just sit here and do nothing?"

"Yes," Optimus growled in annoyance. Scooting out from under his daughter, he went over to the small personal supply of energon he had stored in the room and poured himself a barrel.

"Dad, I can't do that," Hunter stated adamantly from the chair, starting to grow annoyed now as well. She was the Fuser! It was her duty to help and protect people, and her father just expected her to stop doing what she was meant to do? "You can't make me do that."

Optimus growled again. "Yes you and yes I can. And I will." He took a swig of energon.

"No I can't and no you won't!" Hunter snapped back. "Dad, maybe you didn't get the memo, but I. Am. The Fuser!" She slammed her fist into the seat of the chair with each word. "I have a duty to my people, Cybertron, the universe—I can't just turn my back on that, no matter how much I might want to sometimes!"

Optimus wheeled around on her, gaze steely, cold, and angry—a look he had never given her before. A look that sent a chill to the femmling's very core. "Yes, that is true," he admitted. "I won't say that none of that isn't true, but, you see, the thing you do not seem to understand, _**Huntress Starstreaker James, **_is that while you are the Fuser you are also my soldier and you have a duty to follow the orders of your commander—_**my**_ orders!"

Hunter laughed skeptically. "Or what?" she challenged. "You're court martial me? I might be your soldier, Optimus, but I am also your daughter; the same daughter you've taught to follow her spark. Well, guess what, Pops? That's exactly what I'm doing!" Smacking a hand against the arm of the chair Hunter rose and stood erect and tall at her full height.

"Well, stop doing that!" Optimus fumed, his engine starting to rev loudly. "As your commander I order you to stand down and do only what I tell you."

"Sorry, can't do that," Hunter shot back acidly. "I guess you taught me too well."

"Huntress Starstreaker James!"

"I'm the Fuser, Dad!" Hunter shouted again motioning to herself with a hand that shook with anger. "You can't keep me locked away from the world forever!"

"That's not what I am trying to do!"

"Then what are you trying to do?!"

"I am trying to protect you!"

"At the cost of endangering the lives of everyone else?" Hunter scoffed. "Sounds like a cheap trade off to me."

Without any warning, Optimus was across the room in front of Hunter, her shoulders in his crushing grip as he shook her. "For the love of Primus, Hunter, I can't lose you!" he bellowed right in her face, fire and smoke shooting out of the exhaust pipes on his back. This time his voice was more desperate than angry. And as if that declaration and taken all of his strength the Prime fell to his knees, head lowered as he panted, his engine beginning to quiet down.

Because his hands were still gripping her shoulderplates, Hunter had been forced to sit back down in the chair when he sank to the floor. And now she just sat there motionless. Her optics were wide with alarm and disbelief as she watched her father.

Finally, when his engine had settled to its normal rumbling purr, Optimus lifted his head wearily and gazed at his daughter through tear-filled optics. "I can't lose you, Hunter," he repeated, voice hardly above a hoarse whisper now. "Not again. Not again…." The mech's voice trailed off and he hung his head once more, quiet sobs shaking his shoulders.

That was all it took for Hunter's spark to break. Tears quickly welling up in her own optics and streaming down her cheeks, the femmling threw her arms around the large Autobot and held him tightly. "Daddy!" she sobbed. "Don't cry! Please, don't cry, Dad! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…."

Optimus slowly wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "The only thing I fear more than watching you die in my arms again," he choked out, "is for you to be taken away from me with no chance of ever seeing you again." The large red and blue 'bot pulled away from his daughter to meet her gaze. "Hunter," he whispered, "I realize that you are the Fuser, and I know what that means. I know that I cannot prevent you from doing what you have to do or keep you hidden away from the world forever." His tears started coming hotter and faster. "But, Sweet-spark, I beg of you, please, _**please **_do not put me through that. It would be the very death of me."

Sniffling, Hunter quickly nodded and hugged him tightly again. "I won't," she assured him. "I promise I won't. I'll stay hidden in the base for as long as I need to, Dad. I'll stay until the day I finally die if I have to!"

Optimus chuckled weakly and patted her backplate. "I don't believe you will have to stay hidden that long, my love," he claimed. "Just for a couple of months."

"However long I need to," Hunter restated. "I promise."

The Prime smiled meekly. "That's my good, girl," he purred, pulling away to kiss her cheek. "Dry those optics now." With a gentle thumb the Autobot began to wipe the femmling's tears away.

"You too," Hunter giggled with a sniff as she wiped his optics in turn. "Wow," she sighed after a moment. "We just had our first real father-daughter argument."

"That we did," Optimus agreed with a chuckle.

"Well, I guess we're over that hill now," the teenager offered with a lop-sided smile. "I'm tired."

"I would think so, after what happened today," Optimus remarked with a smirk. "I find myself rather weary as well."

Stretching, Hunter released a large yawn. "I think," her words were nearly incoherent as she was still yawning, "I'm gonna go to bed. Come tuck me in?"

"I will be there in a moment," Optimus answered. He stood up and went over to his berth where he had laid the data pad when he first got up to retrieve it.

Smirking and shaking her head knowingly, Hunter jumped up and quickly snagged his arm in an unbreakable grip. "Oh-ho, no you don't," she gently chastised her father as she pulled him away from the berth and towards the door to her room. "Knowing you, you'll get all wrapped up in that footage again trying to find out who those freaks are and completely forget about coming to tuck me in. And I'll be left there, all alone, wondering what I've done to make my father not love me enough to tuck me in." The girl fake-sobbed and dramatically pressed the back of her hand to her optics as she let her head fall back. "Oh, the inhumanity!"

Optimus snorted and rolled his optics at her antics. Why exactly did he love this crazy, strange, and off-the-wall little spitfire some much again? "Of course you realize that you _**are **_in fact sixteen years of age, correct?" he questioned the girl, pulling his arm out of her grip.

Hunter spun around to face him and walked backwards with an innocent smile curling her lipplates. "And you're point is?"

"You should be able to tuck yourself in."

"I can. I never said that I _**can't**_ tuck myself in; I just said that I like it when you tuck me in. What does age have to do with any of it? Besides Ratchet says that if I was a Purebred I'd still be a sparkling right now, so, technically, I'm still too young to be able to tuck myself in."

Optimus chuckled and gently shoved her through the door into her room. "Whatever you say, Ms. Drama Queen."

"Exactly, Mr. Drama _**King**_."

"Oh, so _**that**_ is how you want to play. Well, then, come here, you! Hahaha!"

"Ah! No! Dad! N-no-ho tick-ling! Ah-ha-ha!

* * *

**Confession #31:**

** My favorite part to write in this chapter? Optimus and Hunter's argument, particularly the part where Optimus screams that he can't lose Hunter again. I don't know why, but I just loved writing that part!**

**Confession #32: **

** Before anybody asks, no, most Hybrids do not dissolve into stars or dust or whatever when they die. Only those that are part of Luna's troupe do, because of the spell she puts on them.**

**Confession #33: **

**Hunter going all nuts when Umbra takes her necklace is actually an accidental characteristic inspired by the RWBY character Yang Xiao Long. She goes nuts when you mess with her hair, and Hunter goes all nuts when you mess with the necklace Prime gave her. AVOID BOTH AT ALL COSTS.**

**Confession #34:**

** Merry (early) Christmas everyone! Because I probably won't have another chapter of this up before or on Christmas after this.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	11. A Wish Come True

**Okay. Wow. I really broke my pages mark on this—24! By far the longest chapter I've written for this story yet. Oh, well, good to have a nice, long, happy, fun chapter before the story starts taking a turn. Hope you guys all enjoy this. I guess you could call this a "late Christmas present". Sorry it took so long.**

**WolfAssassin369—I get the feeling it'll be Qrow who helps Yang out, I don't really now why, I just kinda like the idea. Also thanks for helping me pick out the song for our favorite father-daughter duo here. ;)**

**AllSpark Princess—Thanks. Hope you had a good Christmas, too. :)**

**Shadescribe—Yup. I've seen RWBY and I love it. So many great fight scenes, weapons, and an awesome story! And no, Prime didn't tell Hunter he was planning on adopting her, but he will before too long. ;)**

**Alice Gone Madd—Evidently she can't stay hidden for too long. And no problem. ;)**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize. I also don't own any of the songs mentioned.**

* * *

Christian Baczyk; _Memories of You_

11

Ω A Votum Adveho Verus Ω

(A Wish Come True)

"So, nearly there, huh?" Chief Charlie Burns questioned over the vid. com.

"Four days to be exact, Chief Burns," Optimus answered with a smile. "Four more days. I believe it is safe to say now that I cannot foresee anything to stop this."

"Neither can I," Charlie replied. "I've gone over your paperwork that Agent Fowler sent me and everything seems to be in order. I'd say this thing is gonna go off without a hitch."

"Thank you for overseeing the legal matters of this procedure, Chief Burns. It is of utmost importance that this takes place in the most official and proper way possible to avoid any complication. I am most grateful to you."

"Don't mention it Prime—I'm happy to do it," Charlie waved off the thanks before he chuckled. "The hard part was keeping this call under wraps so that the 'bots wouldn't think it was some important, pop check-in. With all the excitement that's been going on in Griffin Rock this past week I'm not quite sure they could've handled that impression. So, when are you going to tell Hunter?"

"Well, if everything is ready and in order I believe I will let her know in the next couple days if I can find the right moment."

"I think just about any moment would be the right moment for this, Prime," Charlie stated with a smirk. "Especially if what you've told me about Hunter's past is true."

Optimus chuckled. "I believe you are right, Chief Burns," he admitted. "I will talk to Hunter as soon as possible."

"Good," the man nodded. "For the record, when exactly do we islanders get to meet this girl?"

"In the near future, Chief Burns," Optimus responded with another chuckle. "I assure you."

"All right then," Charlie chuckled. "I'll let you go now, Optimus. I think I've disappeared long enough and if I'm gone any longer the team might send out a search party for me. Plus, I can't take any chances of spoiling the surprise in case your girl walks in."

"Of course," Optimus nodded. "Thank you, Chief Burns." With that the call ended and the viz. screen went black as it switched off. The large mech turned away from the screen an almost elated smile curling his lipplates. Now was the time. He had said he would talk to Hunter as soon as possible and how more "soon as possible" could you get than right now? The Prime just hoped he wasn't possibly jinxing anything by jumping the gun even this little bit. Still smiling the Prime strode across the room and headed for the hall that would lead him to the berth rooms when a resounding crash and a torrent of angry buzzes stopped him in his tracks. Optics wide in alarm, Optimus broke into a sprint and barreled down the hall towards the sound. He skidded to a quick stop as he saw a giggling mad Hunter come running out of berth room, the obviously angry owner of the room hot on her tail.

In human form, Hunter spotted her spark-father and sprinted for him, somehow managing to look panicked and over-joyed at the same time. "Dad!" she half-screamed half-laughed. "Save me!" Leaping up the teen snagged a hold on the top of her father's windshields and scrambled her way up to his shoulder and then up to the very top of his helm. She smirked down at Bumblebee who was standing there on the floor, neck craned back as he glared daggers up at her. "Can't get me now, 'Bee," she snickered devilishly. "Nyah, nyah-nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!" She stuck out her tongue and pressed her thumbs to her temples as she tauntingly wiggled her fingers at the yellow and black mech.

Frame literally shaking with rage, Bumblebee let fly a string of expletives, all directed at the redhead who was currently doing a jig on the top of his commander's headset.

"Bumblebee!" Optimus exclaimed with a disapproving look.

/_**Don't you see what she did to me?!**_\\\ the young mech demanded pointing to his face which was painted up to make it look like he was wearing make-up. _**Tacky**_ make-up. The enormous red lips painted over his mouth-guard were particularly obscene. The caked on, bright blue eyeshadow above his optics wasn't all that appealing either. And the blush… well, you couldn't be sure if it was really that shade or if it just looked that shade because the scout whose cheekplates it adorned was blushing with hot fury and humiliation. /_**I look ridiculous, Optimus!**_\\\

Fighting hard to keep from laughing (because even the Prime himself couldn't withstand the awesome power of Bumblebee's make-over) Optimus replied, "It is… not as bad as you think." His voice was strained and choked. The Prime could barely spit out the words for fear of bursting into laughter.

/_**"Not as bad as I think"?**_\\\ the scout repeated in absolute disbelief. /_**I look like Raf's little sister's Bratz dolls!**_\\\

"Yeah, ya do!" Hunter snorted.

/_**Can it, spawn!**_\\\ 'Bee buzzed, pointing a jagged finger at the sixteen-year-old. /_**Optimus can't protect you forever and I know where you sleep!**_\\\ That only made Hunter laugh harder. Slumping in defeat, Bumblebee turned his attention back to his commander. /_**Prime, what am I gonna do?**_\\\ Desperation was in his voice. /_**I have to go pick up Raf in less than an hour and there's no way I'll be able to wipe this stuff off my faceplate before then!**_\\\

"Calm down, Bumblebee," Optimus comforted the young mech, laying a soothing, fatherly hand on his shoulder. "We can inform Bulkhead or Arcee to collect Raf if we must. In the meantime I suggest you clean up before the paint completely dries."

/_**Thanks, Optimus,**_\\\ 'Bee sighed in relief, his whole body going limp with it for a brief moment. /_**You're the best.**_\\\

Optimus nodded with a smile. "Go on then. Hunter will be along in a moment to help you once I have a talk with her."

Hearing that, Hunter immediately stopped laughing and rolling around atop her Prime's helm and froze. After a moment she hung over the side of his forehead and met on of his optics, gazing into it with a bewildered look. "Say what now?" she asked, hoping she'd heard wrong.

"You heard me," Optimus replied firmly as he looked cross-eyed at her.

"Uh… you know what he'll do to me if we're alone, right?" Hunter inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you played your joke on him," Optimus suggested, (even though he had [secretly] enjoyed it). "Besides I'm sure it will be no more than you can easily handle." That said and with a longsuffering sigh, the red and blue Autobot reached up and gently plucked his spark-daughter off the top of his helm and knelt down to carefully deposit her on the floor. "Hunter, that is the tenth prank you have played in two weeks," he began, reprimand in his voice. "Sweet-spark, as I have told you many times, I am not against you having fun but this seems rather excessive for you." And he wasn't wrong. It wasn't unlike Hunter to play pranks but it was just something she did every now and again when she got the urge. She never clipped pranks off like this. "Tell me what is wrong."

Transforming to her Cybertronian form, the young Hybrid met her spark-father's stanch gaze with an even more unwavering one of her own. "I'm bored!" Hunter admitted without even the slightest hesitation. "Dad, I've been locked up in this base for two weeks now and I'm bored out of my skull! I need to get outside—feel the sun, race the breeze, feel the road under my tires as I speed down the highway. I've never been this cooped up in my entire life. Daddy, I want to go outside!" the femmling sobbed the last statement and she dramatically fell forward and wrapped her arms around the mech as she buried her face in his chest.

Optimus sighed tediously and couldn't help but roll his optics. "Hunter, you know you can't."

"Just for an hour!" Hunter exclaimed, looking up at him with pleading optics. "I promise, just for an hour."

"Hunter…"

"Half an hour."

"Hunter, please…"

"Fifteen minutes? Ten minutes? I'll even take five minutes, Dad, just five minutes! I just wanna get out of the base for a while." She shoved her faceplate back into his chest armor.

Optimus couldn't help but gaze at his child sympathetically as he loosely wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back. "You really are restless aren't you?" he murmured softly.

"I'm stir-crazy," Hunter muttered into his armor. "I have never been so bored in my entire life and I sat through Mr. Wheelwright's math class at Jasper High School so that's saying a lot." Pulling her face out of his chest and looking up at her spark-father again, the teenager added, "I would even go back to school again just to get out of this mesa."

"Then you most certainly are bored," Optimus chuckled. It was a huge thing for Hunter to admit she'd rather go to OHS than just stay home. "But… I am afraid leaving this base, even for a few minutes, is quite impossible, My Shooting Star. It is best you stay inside where you are safe and undetected."

"But what if you went outside with me?" Hunter tried to weasel her way around the rule. "I might not be undetected then, but I would most definitely be safe. At least safer than I would be if I went outside just by myself."

Optimus was quiet for a moment, thinking this over. "Well…" he began, sounding unsure.

"What if the whole team was with me? And Atlas? I'd definitely be safe then, right?"

At that, Optimus narrowed his optics. She was up to something—trying to get something she wanted. Of course that something she wanted was to get out of the base for a while but it was more than just that; she had a place and most likely activity in mind. "All right," he sighed, "where do you want to go?"

"Well, you know how it's Labor Day weekend coming up?" Hunter questioned feeling a bit more hopeful now that the Prime was interested in at least listening to her idea. Once he'd nodded she went on. "Jack and Raf said that every other year Jasper has a carnival/rodeo-fair type thing over Labor Day weekend, and this is the year for it again. And… well… I was just thinking… I know that the Lennoxes and Epps will be going and so will Jack, Miko, and Raf, and since the kids are going I'm sure at least Bulk and 'Bee will go, and… well… I just thought that maybe if we all went, and if we invited Atlas to go, it would be okay for me to go to. Ya know, since everyone's there?"

An uncertain look came over Optimus' face as he thought it over. Though outside, Hunter would most definitely be much safer with the whole team as well as Atlas there with her should something happen. However, had they not just witnessed how dangerous their enemy was when they'd attacked her at Olympus High—a school full of Hybrids? Atlas and Hunter aside, their team was made up of Purebreds and humans, so who was to say they could even stop the enemy from taking Hunter should they come for her at the carnival? "Sweetspark, I do not know…"

"Please, Daddy?" Hunter pleaded, voice insistent. "I haven't been to a carnival in… well… ever actually. Please? Just one night? Please?" To help seal the deal, the femmling pulled out her fail-safe: the sad puppy eyes.

Gazing down into his daughter's face, Optimus' resoluteness wavered. Why was it so hard to say 'no' to that face? And to make things worse her sad eyes looked even more pitiful since she really was desperate to get out of the base and do something fun for a little while. Groaning and letting his head fall back, the Prime gazed up at the ceiling, trying to break away from the spell of the infamous sad puppy eyes. It didn't work. Even when he wasn't looking into them, the mech could feel them gazing up at him, burning through him and penetrating his very spark, weakening it, bending it to his will.

"Please, Daddy?" Hunter asked one more time, voice as small and meek and innocent as she could possibly make it sound.

And just like that, all of Optimus' herculean resolve came tumbling down. "Well…."

* * *

The Celestial Estate;

Luna sat in her throne deeply entranced in thought. She'd been in this exact position for much of the two weeks since her field acolytes had returned from their failed mission to retrieve the Fuser. The sorceress had been furious, so furious in fact she'd ripped out the sparks of the few remaining members from that mission and crushed them, an act she'd become notorious for. And the woman wasn't much calmer now. They'd had one chance where the odds had been all in their favor and they'd blown it; the Fuser had now vanished underground, just as Luna had feared. There was next to no chance of finding her now.

But Luna had never been one to give up. It was the one truly good skill that her grandsire had instilled in her and it was her greatest strength. Odds are the Fuser wouldn't come out of hiding unless the situation was most dire, and if that was the case then Luna would simply have to force the Fuser to come out. But what situation would be calamitous enough to warrant the Fuser's assistance?

Luna was just beginning to dive into the question when one of the large doors at the end of the throne room opened and Steel walked through. "Grandmother?" he called, making his way across the dark hall.

"I thought I specifically requested to not be disturbed," Luna stated, though her voice lacked harshness and edge, as she was still thinking.

"You did, Grandmother," Steel agreed with a nod. "But I believe I've found some information that will interest you." Pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket, the eighteen-year-old unfolded it and bowed before the feet of his grandmother, offering it up to her.

With a gloved hand, Luna took the paper and held it up to read, carefully looking it over. After a moment her dark red lips slowly pulled up at the corners and parted to reveal her pearl white teeth. She chuckled lowly and darkly. Perfect! "Well done, Steel," she complimented her grandson, not looking away from the paper. "Well done."

"Thank you, Grandmother," the young man replied. Though instead of sounding happy or pleased as he should have about his success Steel's voice was still dry and tight, devoid of any emotion. With that he got up and left the room.

Still gazing at the paper, Luna whispered to herself, "I believe this would definitely be warrant enough to force her out of hiding."

* * *

Two Days Later—Evening—Jasper, Nev.;

Optimus couldn't help but grin as he watched his spark-daughter bounce up and down in her seat in utter delight in his passenger seat. Just seeing that grin on her face and the brightness in her eyes made the risk of taking her out of hiding for the night completely worth it. Hunter was excited and happy—it couldn't be better than that. Well, it could be better without the niggling fear that whoever was trying to capture her could possibly show up here tonight, but at the moment that was all at the very back of the Prime's processor. He wasn't going to worry tonight. He was going to enjoy this time with his daughter and nothing was going to interfere with that.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Hunter sang. Her eyes were fixed out the windshield as the fairgrounds came into sight on the horizon. The sun was just beginning to set over the Nevada desert but many of the carnival lights already had their lights on. That only made the teen more excited. She was going to a carnival! She was actually going to a carnival! This was something she'd always wanted to do and now she was finally getting that chance. One more activity to check off her bucket list!

Finally Optimus pulled up into the parking area of the grounds and parked, the alternate forms of Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Ratchet—yes, even _**Ratchet**_!—pulling in and parking right next to him. The Lennoxes' vehicle pulled in not long after. With everyone here it was time to hit the carnival and nobody was more ready to do that than a certain redheaded Hybrid. That couldn't be made more clear than when she literally threw open the door of her father's cab and leapt out with a whoop. "Whoo-hoo! Whoa!" Hunter was suddenly snagged around the middle and pulled out of her leap and back into a pair of arms. With a sheepish giggle she looked up to see her father's holoform smiling down at her.

"Calm down," Optimus gently cautioned. "Not so fast. The carnival is not going anywhere, so slow down." Setting her back down on the ground and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, the Prime led the femmling around to the other side of his vehicular form where everyone else had congregated.

"So, what's the strategy?" Arcee questioned. "Are we splitting up or staying in one big group?"

"Who cares?" Miko said by way of answer. She, too, was quite excited. "There isn't any kind of plan you make when you go to a carnival you just go! This isn't a battle." With that the Japanese girl turned to her guardian's holoform and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on, Bulk! Let's go on the roller coaster!" She pointed up to the winding track that towered above much of the rest of the fair grounds. Every once in a while you could see one of the carts packed with screaming people come into a view and then plummet straight down again out of sight, the screaming growing louder.

Staring up at it, Bulkhead couldn't help but gulp. There wasn't much the ex-Wrecker was afraid of, but he wasn't fond of the idea of feeling like he was free falling and drops like that one on a roller coaster did just that. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered roller coasters with Miko, and she liked the fast and tall ones. The faster and taller the better. "Miko, maybe we should rethink this," he suggested.

Miko whipped around and gazed at him with disbelief. "You kidding? That's the whole reason I wanted to come here! Now come on!" She began pulling him in the direction of the entrance.

"Miko! Wa-wait, Miko. Miko!" Bulk tried to dig his heels in and pull away from his young companion but it was no use, she wouldn't let him go. The rest of the group couldn't help but snicker.

"Mommy, can we go see the bunnies?" Annabelle questioned, turning to look up at her father with pleading eyes.

Will and Sarah chuckled and shared a gaze before turning back to their child. "Put the puppy eyes away," Sarah sighed, playfully tapping her daughter's nose. "Of course we can go see the bunnies."

"Yay!" Annabelle cheered, doing her famous happy dance.

"All right," Will laughed. "Do you wanna walk to see the bunnies or do you want a piggy back ride?"

"Piggy back!"

"All right, my little jockey, hop on." Will crouched down and picked his daughter up to set her on his shoulders before standing up again. "Here we go. I guess we're off to see the small animal house first then," he informed the others as the family walked away.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you guys," Epps stated as he patted his middle, "but I haven't eaten anything since dinner and I've been workin' hard all day so I'm hungry. I'm headed to hit the snack shacks. If you need me, you can find me behind a pile of corndogs." He began to head towards the entrance as well.

"I'm gonna laugh when you get indigestion," Hunter called after him with a smirk.

Epps smirked back over his shoulder at her. "Hey, if I do, just know that I'll be riding home with you."

Both Hunter's and Optimus' eyes widened in terror.

"Sergeant!" Optimus exclaimed.

"You wouldn't dare!" Hunter screeched at the same time.

Epps simply snickered evilly and kept walking away.

Optimus and Hunter shared a look and shuddered before turning back to the rest of the group. "What about all of you?" the Prime questioned.

"They're having a wild west show over in the arena," Raf stated. "'Bee wants to see it we we'll head over there."

"I'll go with them, too," Ratchet said. Apparently he hadn't meant to sound so excited because when he say everyone looking out him strangely his holoform face flushed beet red. "Uh… to keep an eye on Rafael and Bumblebee," he rushed on to add. "Someone has to make sure they don't get into trouble."

The others didn't seem to buy it. "Ratchet a closeted cowboy wannabe?" Jack snorted, looking over at Hunter.

"Who knew?" the girl replied with a laugh.

Growling and still red in the face, Ratchet began to leave the group. "Come along, boys," he grumbled. Still snickering up their breath, Raf and 'Bee followed after him.

"Wait, 'Bee!" Hunter called. When the young Autobot had paused and turned back to face her, the girl removed her black, felt cowboy hat that Will had handed down her to her placed it atop her brother's holoform's head. "There," she giggled, adjusting it before stepping back with her hands on her hips, "now you look like a real cowboy: boots, chaps, hat, and all." And he really did. For the occasion Bumblebee had switched up his holoform's outfit for the night to look like an authentic cowpoke. Bumping the brim up a bit more, 'Bee gave the girl a lopsided smile before pointing at her and winking, clucking his tongue as he did. Hunter laughed and did the motion back at him. "You got it, partner," she drawled. "Now go round up them there little doggies." She tried to stifle her laughter as the mech turned away and began to saunter off with the best bow-legged swagger her could manage.

Chuckling, Optimus came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, watching after the young scout as she did. "Bumblebee," he mused shaking his head, "the first Cybertronian cowboy."

"I think he can pull it off," Hunter commented. The sixteen-year-old turned to look at Arcee and Jack who, like she and Optimus, were watching after Bumblebee and trying not to laugh. "What's the plan for you two?" she asked.

"I don't know," Arcee answered before looking at Jack.

"I guess I was planning on showing Arcee some of the shooting games," Jack answered.

"Shooting games?" the femme questioned.

"Yeah," the boy replied. "You put down money and you shoot at targets and if you can it what you're supposed to you can win prizes. Knowing you, you might actually be able to beat them."

"I'm always up for a challenge," Arcee said with a shrug, a slight smile curling her holoform lips. "And target practice is always a good thing to do." With that the two of them walked off, Jack digging out his wallet and going through it to see just how much money he had.

With the rest of the team gone, Optimus turned to his daughter, the one person who had looked forward to this evening most but had yet to proclaim what she wanted to do. "And what of you, My Love?" he questioned, turning her to face him and brushing her bangs back out of her face with a loving smile. "What would you like to do first?"

"Everything!" Hunter almost had the exclamation out before he'd finished asking the question.

Optimus laughed. "Well, I am afraid we will be unable to do everything first, Sweet-spark," he remarked. Putting an arm around her shoulders the duo began walking towards the entrance of the fairgrounds. "Why don't we start with what you want to do most first and work our way from there?"

"But I want to do everything most."

"Well, you are simply going to have to narrow it down."

* * *

"Wow, okay," Hunter chuckled as she looked around at the surroundings she was currently rising above. "This is really high. I don't think I'm even this high up when I'm standing on the top of your helm," she mentioned to her father seated beside her in the bright green Ferris Wheel chair. After much deliberation, the teenager had decided that the best way to kick of her carnival debut was to do the most classic thing one thought of when thinking about going to a carnival: riding the Ferris Wheel. It was all well and good until they reached the top of the wheel and suddenly came to a stop as the operator let people out of the lowest basket. Hunter looked down to see just how high they were. Her excitement turned into terror and her grin slipped away when she saw how far away the ground looked. That was a _**long**_ way down. And nothing but the safety bar and a couple flimsy belts to strap them in…. The redhead sat back a bit but continued to stare down. "Almost _**too**_ high," she added to her previous statement with a gulp.

At that, a devilish smirk claimed Optimus' lips as a brilliant idea popped into his head. It might be a little mean but this was by far too good an opportunity to pass up, and when it came to his daughter the Prime wasn't above playing a little harmless prank on her. Primus knew she did it to him often enough. Grabbing the safety bar with both hands and bracing his feet against the little lip on the footrest, the Autobot quickly threw his weight backwards, causing the chair to suddenly rock.

With a scream, Hunter instinctively wrapped both arms around the safety bar and hung on for dear life until the basket stopped moving. She glared over at the laughing Prime. "That was not funny!" she fumed a bit breathlessly, harshly glaring at him.

"On the contrary, My Shooting Star," Optimus retorted, grinning from ear to ear at her, "it was most humorous."

"No it wasn't," Hunter snipped. "Don't do it again."

"Of course, Hunter," Optimus ceded, still smiling and chuckling. "Whatever you say." The Ferris Wheel began to move again and the Prime waited a few seconds more before her made the chair sway once more.

"Ahh! No! No!" Hunter desperately clung on to the safety bar as well as the back of the basket, trying to stabilize it. When is stopped she relaxed and slumped back into the seat, arms crossed over her chest. She glared at her spark-father. "You think you're awfully clever, don't you?" she rumbled. It was a rhetorical question.

"Well, I am sorry, Sweet-spark," Optimus chuckled, "but you make it far too easy. Hunter you have nothing to fear. You are safely secured within this basket; I myself am not going to let you fall out; and even if you were fall you are not high enough to be injured should you hit the ground. And let us not forget, little one, with your pyrokinesis you do possess the capability of flight."

"So?" Hunter responded. "Hybrid or not, Fuser or not, I still have the instincts I developed as a human, so I'm gonna freak out at the prospect of falling regardless. Besides, it's still not nice to scare people, especially your _**daughter**_!"

Optimus sighed and looked away from her harsh gaze. "Ah, I suppose you are right, Hunter," he admitted, though he still couldn't help but smile. "I am sorry. I will sway the chair again." And he didn't… until they'd rounded the Ferris Wheel and reached the top again. That time the basket swayed more dramatically than it had before because right at the moment the Autobot commander threw his weight the Ferris Wheel came to yet another stop.

That time Hunter grabbed at and clung to the holoform to anchor herself. "**DAD!** You said you weren't gonna do that again!" she shrieked frantically, sapphire blue eyes wide with fright.

"Ah, but I did not promise that I wouldn't," Optimus stated, "did I?"

"Well, no, but… but… ugh!" Hunter hid her face in his shoulder. Gently slamming her fist against his chest, the sixteen-year-old grumbled, "You're a meany-pants."

"I do not believe that is an actual thing, Hunter," her father informed her, "much less a word."

"Doesn't matter," the girl insisted. "You're a meany-pants—case closed."

Chuckling, Optimus wrapped an arm around his daughter and pulled her close to his side. "I am sorry, Hunter," he crooned, rubbing her back. "I won't sway the basket again, I promise."

Pulling her face out of his shoulder and resting her head there, Hunter looked up at him and studied his face for a moment. "I know you promised you wouldn't," she said after a moment, "but I'm still not sure I believe you." Smiling, the Prime kissed her forehead and nuzzled her making it impossible for the child to not smile and nuzzle him back. "You're infuriating," she grumbled, still trying to pass off as angry.

"Mmm, yes, that is why you are cuddling into my side," Optimus noted.

"Take it and shove it."

The Prime chuckled.

* * *

"I think I might have to breathe through my mouth tonight," Hunter remarked half-way to herself as she and Optimus walked arm and arm down the midway, looking this way and that to take in the sites. There was so much here! Stands selling food; stands selling jewelry and clothes and hates and boots; chainsaw sculptures, pony rides, a fun house, a bouncy house, a bull ride—they had everything! It was dazzling to the eye.

"Why is that?" Optimus questioned, looking down at his daughter quizzically.

"The smell of the food," Hunter answered not looking up at him as she was too busy looking around. "It's overwhelming for my sense of smell." Hybrids were renowned for their heightened senses and because she was the Fuser Hunter's senses were even more acute than those of any other Hybrid. Epps always joked about her being the blood-hound of the group. As you can probably guess being compared to a dog—even loving animals as she did—did not make the teenager feel the least bit flattered. Unfortunately, Epps just took that as a cue to joke about it even more.

"Does it hurt?" her father questioned in some concern. Knowing just how sensitive his daughter's sense of smell was, the Prime was aware that odors that were too concentrated and overpowering could physically hurt her olfactory nerves. It had happened once before when Hunter had been helping Epps and Lennox on the ranch and they'd stirred up a skunk. Thankfully Hunter wasn't the one that got sprayed but she had come away from the incident with burning sinuses and a bleeding nose because of the stench. Sometimes having more powerful sensory functions didn't pay.

"No," the girl assured him, shaking her head. "It might if I deliberately smelled the air but I'm not. It's just _**really **_pungent." That's when something out of the corner of the Hunter's eye snagged her attention. "Ooh, is that cotton candy?!" she exclaimed, looking in the direction of the stand and stopping, consequently causing her father to stop as well. When the teen had discovered that, yes, it really was cotton candy she spun around and looked up at the Prime with excitement. "Can I get some cotton candy, Daddy?" she pleaded, jumping up and down like a small child. "Please, please, please, please, please?"

Laughing, Optimus placed a gentle hand atop her head to keep her still. "All right," he grinned. "All right. I honestly do not see what you find so appetizing about candy that looks like something clothing should be made from, but all right." Digging into the pocket of his holoform jeans, the Prime pulled out some money he'd made sure to stash there and placed it in Hunter's hand. "Go buy yourself a bag," he said, folding her hand over the cash. "But just _**one**_."

"You are the greatest!" his daughter exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. She remained there for only a split second before turning and running off towards the stand.

Optimus watched after her, chuckling and shaking his head. His little girl—sometimes she truly did seem like a little girl.

"Thanks," Hunter chirped to the person behind the counter as she passed her money over. Swiping up her bag of sugary goodness, the sixteen-year-old opened it, reached inside and pulled off a good chunk of it. She popped it into her mouth, savoring the taste as the pure sugar melted on her tongue. What could be better than this?

"Hey, Red," a familiar voice caught her attention. "Been a while."

Freezing mid-stride, Hunter rolled her eyes. "Not nearly long enough, Vince," she replied, turning around to see the red-haired, green-eyed boy standing there, leaning up against a light pole, smiling. The girl couldn't help but take notice at how he was looking her up and down. Suddenly this night didn't seem so magical.

"Aw, come on, Hunter," Vince flirtatiously returned, "that's no way to talk to an old friend."

"You're exactly right," Hunter agreed, pointing at him with a smile. "Good thing we're not friends then, huh?"

Chuckling, Vince ran a hand through his perfectly angled bangs and pushed off the pole, swaggering towards her. "Aw, don't say that now, Red, I'm trying to be optimistic here."

"Yeah, well, I'm being realistic," Hunter shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "And guess what, Vince? It's realism that helps you survive in this world."

"Did I mention how great you look?" the boy suddenly asked, admittedly throwing Hunter a bit off her game. She knew that Vince liked how she was built, but it had been a while since she'd heard him mention it.

"No," she answered. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

"Ha, still got the acid tongue I see," Vince commented.

"I try to keep it sharp for you, Vince."

"Good to know you think of me."

"I don't. It was sarcasm? Do I need to hold up a sign?"

"Aw, come on, you don't think of me at least a little bit?"

"Well, admittedly some whenever Miko or Jack or Raf mention you."

"Oh? And what do you think of?" Vince had covered the distance between them and was standing well within the girl's personal space bubble, gazing down into her sapphire blue eyes.

Hunter tried to step back but he came with her. "Excuse me?" she snorted.

"What do you think of when you think of me?"

Hunter stared at him for a moment, cocking her head to the side as she looked him over. Seriously? Did he take this page out of 'How to Flirt Clichés 101'? "You really want me to go there?" she asked, narrowing her gaze at him.

"If you do I'll tell you what I think of when I think of you."

"_I don't wanna know what you think of when you think of me_," Hunter silently snapped. "Well, all right," she sighed with a shrug, "if you must know. When I think of you I think of… what a damn, sparkly dill weed you are." And that was heavily sugarcoating it.

In a matter of three seconds Vince's expression turned from one of flirtation to shock to anger. The vein that Hunter remembered so well began to pop out on his forehead. "Excuse me?" he seethed.

Smirking Hunter shrugged and shook her head. "Hey, man, you asked."

"You think I'm a sparkly dill weed?" Vince fumed, voice raising.

"Well, actually I think of way worse things than that but I'm trying to keep it civil here."

"You think I'm s sparkly dill weed?!" Thanks to Vince they were really having a lot of unnecessary attention drawn towards them now.

"Why are you surprised?" Hunter inquired with a small laugh. "I don't like you Vince. I never have. Or don't you remember?"

"You got some nerve, bitch!" Vince roared. "Do you have any idea how many girls would consider themselves frickin' lucky for me to be talking to them the way I'm talking to you?"

"Some girls must really have a thing for being yelled at then," Hunter muttered.

"I mean the flirting!" Vince bellowed.

"Yeah, it was _**really**_ pathetic by the way," the girl jabbed. "Seriously, Vince, I expected better material from you."

All at once Vince raised a hand. "I should smack some respect into you!" he growled. With that the boy swung his hand down, only to have his wrist be caught and easily held off. His eyes widened. He'd forgotten just how freakishly strong this girl was!

A deadly scowl on her face Hunter glared Vince down, making him feel like she was burning into his very soul with those vivid eyes of hers. "Lay a hand on me," she hissed, "and I will bust your fat, empty head wide open. Understand?" She threw his hand way, causing the boy to spin and almost lose his balance.

Finding his feet again, Vince wheeled around to glare back at her and give her what for. "Are you threatening me?" he demanded.

"I'm not threatening you, son, I'm telling you," Hunter informed him. "Step off."

"Oh, what, you actually think I'm afraid of you, Red? You actually think you can take me?"

"Maybe you have some brain damage from our previous encounters and don't remember because of it, Vince, but I've trounced your sorry backside twice—once only a week after I had my appendix removed. You honestly think I can't do it again?" There was a dangerous challenge in Hunter's voice, almost as if she was daring him to try. And to be perfectly honest she was. More than anything she wanted to show this guy what for, knock down to the bottom of the ego scale, and watch him try to climb back up from that devastating blow. Unfortunately she never got that chance because it was right when Vince seemed about ready to take her dare that her spark-father came walking in to the picture.

"Is everything all right, Hunter?" Optimus questioned, even though he knew everything clearly wasn't.

Relaxing a bit and taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes to calm herself, Hunter nodded. "Yeah," she sighed, opening her eyes again and looking up at him. "Everything's okay, Dad."

"Dad?" Vince snorted with a sneer. "What Dad? He's not your dad—you're an orphan, Red, you don't have parents."

Hunter whirled around on him, shooting daggers his way. How dare he?! Oh, that was it! He was going to have to by dentures for himself now! The girl moved to attack but a steady and firm hand was placed on her shoulder, silently telling her to amp down. Begrudgingly, Hunter did just that. "No, you're right, Vince," she said instead, "I was an orphan and didn't have parents. But see, that's the beauty about being a orphan, Vince—you can get new parents."

Another snort. "Who'd want _**you**_ for a daughter?"

That time it was Optimus' turn to go rigid and snarl from deep in his chest. "_**I**_ would," he rumbled menacingly, causing the boy's eyes to widen a bit in fear and step back.

Hunter couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, see, Vince," she added, "I can get a new family, but you? You will never be able to get a new attitude; you are always going to be a jerk. And not even a jerk—you are like the King Jerk and even all your jerky subjects hate your guts. Now if you'll excuse us, my father and I were enjoying a lovely evening together before you so rudely interrupted it. So if you wouldn't mind." Taking each other's arms again, the duo turned and walked away, leaving a very flustered and tongue-tied King Jerk in their wake.

"Well," Optimus remarked after a minute or two, "that was interesting."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Hunter agreed. "Too bad Vince isn't the one who's after me. I wouldn't mind one bit seeing him locked up."

* * *

Seated on a bench across from the photo booth they'd just come out of, Optimus and Hunter were huddled together, looking over their line of photographs and laughing at how ridiculous they looked. What was it about photo booths that brought out the comedian in everybody? "Oh, my gosh, you're doing the bunny ears on me!" Hunter exclaimed, pointing to the first picture on the strip. "You jerk! How do you even know what bunny ears are?" She gave her father a befuddled look.

Optimus chuckled. "Hunter, I am not as oblivious to Earth customs as you seem to think I am," he informed her. "There are many things I have learned since arriving on this planet."

"And are you gonna spring all of them on me as surprises?" the girl asked with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

"That is for me to know and you to find out," Optimus answered mysteriously, returning her look. Hunter rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the photos again, her father doing the same. "Besides," Prime sighed heavily, "it didn't seem to work out, what with you deciding move your head and kiss my cheek at the last minute."

"You look way more surprised than I thought you would," Hunter giggled, grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course I was surprised," her father stated. "I was under the impression that the first photo was to be a serious one."

"But you were gonna do the bunny ears on me."

"Yes, but you weren't to know that until we retrieved the pictures."

"So you're a sneaky hypocrite," Hunter summed up, giving her father a look again.

"No," Optimus began, "I am…"

"Yes you are," Hunter persisted with a devilish grin. "You're a sneaky hypocrite."

The Prime gave her a fed up look and shook his head. "All right," he finally caved, neatly folding the photos. "You are you going to be that way you are not going to get to see the rest of the photos." He slipped the strip into an inside pocket of his jacket.

"Wha- no, Dad, come on," Hunter replied with a sweet smile. "That isn't fair."

"Oh, I believe it is perfectly fair," Optimus replied with a shake of his head. "You disrespect me and…"

"I wasn't disrespecting you, I was just teasing!" Hunter exclaimed with a disbelieving laugh and shrug. "Come on, you know that."

"I am sorry, but my decision is final," her spark-father declared bracing his hands on his knees in a finality gesture.

Hunter scoffed, not quite buying it. "You're playing with me," she stated.

"No, I am not."

"Yes, you are, now let me see the photos."

"No. You cannot see them."

"Yes, I can—lemme see."

"No."

"Yes." Hunter moved her hand towards his jacket to retrieve the photo strip but Optimus scooted out of her reach. "Dad, come on." She tried again and he turned away. "Dad." When she went for them again he stood up. The redhead smirked. So, he wanted to play hardball, huh? Fine, two could play at that game. "Lemme see the pictures!" Standing up on the bench, the young Hybrid lunged and landed on her father's back, almost toppling him to the ground. As she clung to him she tried worming her hand down into his jacket pocket, but he caught her wrist. "I wanna see the pictures!"

"Never!" Optimus chortled evilly.

"Dad!"

"No!"

"They're my pictures too!"

"Well, that is unfortunate, because you're not going to see them! Ugh!" The Prime reached around to try and snag a hold on his daughter and drag her off his back. However, it was easier said than done. She was squirming around on his back so that Optimus was finding it difficult to keep his balance and was staggering this way and that. Finally the Autobot decided to go up and over instead of around and back. Taking hold of her upper left arm, Prime jerked Hunter down over his shoulder, the force of his action causing him to stumble back and fall do a seat on the bench again, Hunter crashing down in his lap. "Oof!"

After shaking off their daze the two paused and met each other's eyes before bursting out laughing. "I'm pretty sure we just got a bunch of weird and probably annoyed looks," Hunter remarked, sitting up on his knee.

"Then so be it," Optimus replied, smiling lovingly at her. "I could not care less about what they think, I only care that you are happy, My Shooting Star. That is all that matters to me tonight."

Hunter couldn't help the mile wide grin that claimed her lips. Being a Prime, Optimus was always careful to keep his emotions in check when on the battlefield, in a briefing, over even just when he was around most of the rest of the team, but when it came to her he was an open book. And not just because they shared a spark-bond. The link certainly did make it easier to sense what the Prime was feeling at any given moment but even without it Hunter would have been able to know. He held nothing back with her. Especially when it came to letting her know just how much he cared for her. When he showed her love and affection Optimus did it completely without any shame or remorse, no matter who was around. The only thing he cared about was making sure she felt cherished and happy and important. He made her feel like she was the center of his very world even when she knew that wasn't completely true. He was so different from every other adult she'd met in that respect, including the few families who had considered adopting her when she'd been younger. Even back then when those families had showered her with love and affection there had always been questions and worries. Did the family really love her or did they just pity her? Did they really want her? Or was it just something they had said to help calm her fears? With Optimus there were no questions: There was no worry. Yes, he really loved her, there was no pity there. Yes, he really wanted her—she could see it every time she looked into his eyes. He was hers for all eternity and she knew that he would never, ever abandon her or give her up for anything. That's why she loved him so much. That's why she wasn't afraid to trust him with, not just her life, but her happiness as well. And he safeguarded both with the fiercest devotion. And, though he never asked for or expected repayment, Hunter did her best to do the same for him and to make him proud. It was the very least she could do since he had not only saved her life numerous times but had taken her under his wing, stood by her in her greatest hours of need, and, most importantly, had given her love and a family. She would never truly be able to repay him for that.

"You know what would really make me happy?" Hunter asked teasingly. "Seeing the pictures."

Chuckling Optimus dramatically rolled his electric blue holoform eyes and reached inside his jacket. "Very well," he sighed. "If you must." The Autobot dug into his pocket and pulled out the strip, tenderly unfolding it. He handed to her. "Are you happy now?"

Hunter grinned cheekily at him. "Very," she answered. "Thank you." She chuckled as her father kissed her hair and then looked the pictures over again. "I think this one is my favorite," the teenager stated. She was pointing at the last photo of the strip—the one where she was laying across the Prime's lap, after being tickled and dragged into it, and one arm wrapped around his neck while the other was stretched down towards the floor of the photo booth. Optimus was doing somewhat the same thing with one arm around her and the other extending away. They were both smiling, their mouths open as if to announce, "Here we are!"

Optimus smiled, not a bit surprised that was her favorite. "I believe this one is mine," he commented, pointing to the picture just above Hunter's pick. In that one they were hugging each other, looking as happy as two larks. Simple and sweet—it couldn't get any better than that.

"That's a good one, too," the girl admitted. Suddenly something slammed into her back and Hunter went tumbling off her father's knee to the ground. "Oof!"

"Hunter!" Annabelle chirped happily.

Laughing, Hunter rolled over and sat up, grinning as the little girl wrapped her in a hug. "That's quite a powerful tackle you got there, Belle," she remarked, ruffling the child's golden locks. The teen looked up over Annabelle's head to see Sarah and Will standing there, trying to stifle their laughter as they watched on. "Will, I think you have a football player on your hands here," she told the man as she got on her feet.

"Well, the high school is in need of a good linebacker," Will replied with a shrug.

"Daddy!" Annabelle huffed, giving him the cutest glare. "I don't want to be a football player when I grow up—you know that!"

"And what is it you want to be when you're grown, little one?" Optimus inquired with a soft smile.

At that Annabelle leapt to her feet and started dancing around. "I want to be a coregrapher!" she exclaimed.

"That's 'chor-e-o-graph-er', sweetheart," Sarah corrected her daughter, pronouncing each syllable.

"Chor-e-o-graph-er," her daughter repeated with great concentration. "Hmm, that's hard to say. Maybe I'll just be a ballerina instead." With that statement the seven-year-old went up on her tip-toes and began pirouetting as best she could. "I'm already really good at walking around on my tip-toes," she stated proudly. "Uncle Epps calls me a ninja because he says you can't hear me when I walk on my tip-toes. Ooh! Maybe I'll be a ninja when I grow up."

"You can grow up to be whatever you want to be, Annabelle," Hunter assured the child with a chuckle. "And whatever it is, I'm sure you'll rock at it."

The little girl simply beamed and continued spinning and leaping around.

"So," Will asked, looking at the father-daughter duo, "what have you two been up to tonight?"

"Well, we began the evening riding the Ferris Wheel," Optimus informed them, "and from then on, this one," the Prime looked down at Hunter and put a hand atop her head as he ruffled her fiery mane, "has been dragging me around ever since."

Scoffing, Hunter smacked his hand away. "I have not been dragging you," she retorted with a smirk.

"Perhaps not in the literal sense," Optimus conceded, "but close enough to it."

Hunter rolled her eyes. "What about you guys?" she asked her former foster parents.

"Pretty much the same," Will answered.

"We were just on our way to the dance," Sarah added.

At that statement Annabelle came flying back at Hunter and latched onto the teen's leg. "Can you come with us, Hunter?" she asked, looking up with those entrancing baby-blues of hers. "Please, please, please, please, please come! We can show everyone how to do the 'Hoedown Throwdown'!"

Laughing, Hunter rested a hand on the child's head. "I'm not sure I remember it, kiddo," she said. "I helped you learn that at the end of last school year for your talent show and, unlike you, I don't perform it every day."

"You remember," you young friend insisted. "Please?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Optimus chuckled and met his daughter's eyes. "I do not believe she will let you escape this one, sweet-spark," he remarked.

Sighing, but smiling, the redhead turned to look Annabelle again and nodded. "Okay, Belle," she caved. "You win."

Annabelle leapt off Hunter's legs and jumped into the air, pumping a fist up. "Yes!"

* * *

"I don't know, Prime," Will stated, "I think maybe we have two professional dancers on our hands here." Will, Sarah, and Optimus were seated at one of the picnic tables that were set off to the side of the dance floor which, in all reality, was really just a large space of rake sand and dirt in the middle of the open air bar where the dance was being held. As it was, that space was currently full of dancing bodies. Most of them were children between Annabelle and Hunter's ages, though there were a few young adults and even some young-at-heart older people partaking in the merriment. After all if you were five or eighty-two the hoedown throwdown was something you could do!

"Perhaps you are right, Major," the Prime replied with a laugh as he watched both his sixteen-year-old and Will's seven-year-old dancing at the front of the large group. The Autobot couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle to himself as he watched Hunter. She had been worried that she'd forgotten the dance steps after all this time, and here she was hitting every move, striking every pose, and singing along with the singing along with the song while doing it. If she kept this up, Annabelle would be asking her to perform the song with her at the next talent show at the end of the school year. Optimus could almost see the Youtube video Miko would most undoubtedly post up now.

When the song finally ended and the group on the dance floor began to disperse, the girls came back to their parents' table, Annabelle streaking as fast as she could and Hunter following more slowly along behind. "Mommy, Daddy, did you see me?" Annabelle chirped excitedly clambering up into her father's lap.

"We sure did, baby girl," Sarah answered, stroking her daughter's hair before holding her face in both her hands. "You did such a good job."

Annabelle beamed.

"Okay," Hunter puffed as she finally arrived, "I have to admit I'm a little winded now. Whew!" The teen collapsed to the bench beside her father. Crossing her arms on the table she laid her head down on them.

"Well, what do you expect?" Optimus chuckled, pulling her into his arms. "You were dancing and singing at the same time."

"I know, but still."

"That was so much fun!" Annabelle exclaimed, obviously not half as worn out as her sister-figure.

"Well, you did a great job, kiddo," Hunter told the child, lifting her head and smiling. "You should be proud of yourself."

"Thanks, Hunter," Annabelle replied bashfully, blushing a bit. "You did a good job, too."

"Thanks, Belle," Hunter chuckled.

"Well, now what?" Will asked, looking around at their table. "What's next?"

"How about staying right here for now so that the Hybrid can relax a little bit?" Hunter suggested with a lop-sided smile. "That sounds like a good plan to me."

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," Sarah laughed.

"Ugh, thank you," Hunter groaned before dramatically letting her head drop to her arms again, face down.

It was then that a new song began playing over the system, a much, much slower song. Immediately recognizing it, Sarah looked over at her husband, a dreamy, far-off look in her eyes. "Will, remember this song?" she questioned with a soft smile.

Having not really been paying attention, the man fell silent for a moment before the same dreamy expression came over his face. He gazed at his wife. "Etta James 'At Last'," he answered. "It was the first song we ever danced to."

"And the song we danced to at our wedding."

"Wow," Hunter laughed, looking up with a devious gleam in her eyes. "I had no idea you guys were _**that**_ old."

Both adults gave the girl a playful glare. "Haha," Sarah replied.

"The song wasn't new then, smart mouth," Will informed the girl at the same time. "And for your information, it was fairly old by that time."

Hunter simply snickered in delight.

Shaking their heads, the couple turned back to each other. "I can remember it like it was yesterday," Sarah sighed, that wistful look coming back. "You looked so handsome standing up there at the front of the church; so stoic and strong—the man of my dreams."

"I was a nervous wreck," Will snorted. "And who can blame me? Your father was givin' me the stink eye all the way down the aisle and your brothers weren't much better." The man sighed and smiled. "But then I got a look of you in that dress… and that's when I realized just how lucky a guy I was. You weren't just beautiful that day, babe, you were smokin'!"

"As opposed to now?" Sarah inquired, arching an eyebrow and giving him a look.

Will chuckled. "You're even more so now, babe, trust me." With that he leaned towards his wife and gently kissed her.

"Mommy, Daddy, gross!" Annabelle loudly complained. Screwing up her face and sticking out her tongue the little girl made her disgust well know. "Yuck!"

Evidently Will and Sarah were too wrapped up in their memories to pay much attention to their daughter because the kiss lingered on. When it finally broke, Will scooted Annabelle off his lap and onto the bench, took his wife's hand, helped her out, and led her out to the dance floor where several other couples were already dancing. Once there he swept her up into a slow dance.

Pouting, Annabelle crossed her little arms over the table and rested her chin on them. "My parents are so weird," she grumbled, glaring down at the table top.

Hunter and Optimus chuckled at the little girl.

"Trust me, kiddo," Hunter murmured winking at her, "that'll be you and your guy one day."

Annabelle shot up straight, looking both horrified and appalled. "Ewwww! No! Boys are yucky! I don't want anything to with them—blech!"

"Unfortunately, you won't always think that way, little one," Optimus lamented.

"Yes I will." Annabelle was persistent. "Boys have cooties."

"Eventually, Annabelle, you'll find out you want those cooties," Hunter stated.

"No thanks," the little girl insisted. Crossing her arms over her chest she turned away and stuck her nose in the air to emphasize her point.

Laughing, Hunter and Optimus turned to watch on as the Lennoxes danced. Hunter wasn't much of a romantic (or at least she didn't like to think she was) but even she had to admit the way Will and Sarah were holding each other close and gazing into each other's eyes, like they were the only two people in the entire world, was just about the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. The couple still loved each other so much. Not even death itself would be able to tear those two apart.

The song finally ended and Sarah and Will were coming back to the table when the DJ came on over the sound system with an announcement. "We're gonna keep it slow for this next song," he drawled. "Ladies, take a seat, but men keep on your dancin' shoes be prepared to bring that other special girl of your life out onto the dance floor. We're about ready to have the father-daughter dance."

Turning away from the speakers, Will looked down at Annabelle and smiled lovingly. He bowed low before kneeling down to his daughter's height and gentlemanly offering her his hand. "Pardon me, miss," he said, "but may I have this dance."

Grinning of ear to ear, Annabelle looked like she'd swallowed the very sun. "Really, Daddy?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, you are the other special girl in my life," her father answered. "Unless, you would rather have me dance with Hunter." He looked over at the redhead and winked her with a smirk.

The teen winked back. "Aww, really, Will?" she played along, watching Annabelle's reaction. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the child's horrifically shocked expression.

"Sure," the man said, standing up. "I mean, you are like a second daughter to us, right, honey?" he asked, turning to his wife.

Smiling, Sarah nodded. "Of course."

"No!" Annabelle shouted, jumping up on the bench. "I wanna dance with you, Daddy! Dance with me, Daddy! Me! Me!"

Chuckling, Will turned back to his daughter and tenderly smoothed a hand over her locks. "Of course I'll dance with you, pumpkin," he assured her with a smile. "We're all just teasing you. You know no one could ever take your place as my little girl, right?"

Looking beyond relieved, Annabelle smiled and nodded. "I know, Daddy," she assured him. "I'm your little Princess."

"That's right," Lennox agreed with an affirmative nod. "So can this knight have a dance with his Princess?"

The beaming grin came back onto Annabelle's face and she leapt up, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "Of course you can, Daddy!" she chirruped.

Will chuckled and hugged his little girl close before setting her down the floor and offering her his arm, having to lean over to do so. Like a little lady Annabelle slipped her tiny hand through and Lennox led her off to the dance floor where several other fathers and daughters had congregated. The music started playing.

Hunter was humming along to the opening guitar chords of the song and swaying to the slow tempo when the warmth of Optimus shifted beside her. She looked over to see a large hand, weathered and callused but also warm and inviting, being offered to her. Her gaze traveled up to meet her spark-father's eyes. She smiled. "Does this Princess get to dance with her knight in shining armor, too?" she questioned teasingly.

"Only if she desires to," Optimus chuckled the answer. "Might I have this dance?"

Sighing and shaking her head, Hunter's smile transformed into a beaming grin that rivaled even what Annabelle's had been. "Well, since you asked so nicely…." The young femmling reached and took her father's hand, letting him help her rise to her feet, then she wrapped her arm through his and let him lead her to the dance floor. Once there she turned to face him. The sixteen-year-old could help the quiet giggle of joy that escaped her as Optimus took her right hand in his left raised them to the proper position. She placed her left hand on his right shoulder. When he slipped an arm around her waist and rest his hand in the middle of her back, Hunter stepped closer so that her forehead just brushed the side of his chin. And just like that they were dancing. Well, in all reality it was really more like swaying to the music and slowly turning in a circle with Hunter following Prime's steps, but the magic was still there.

Optimus smiled down at his daughter as she grinned back up at him, utter joy shining in her beautiful sapphire eyes. No words could describe what seeing her like this did to his spark—he absolutely loved it. If he could freeze time he would do it right now. Nothing could possibly be better than dancing forever through endless time with his daughter held close in his arms and shining like the brightest, most precious star. Nothing. Lowering his head, the Prime closed his eyes and pressed a tender kiss to Hunter's hairline before resting his forehead against hers and gazing adoringly into her eyes. This moment was perfection.

Her grin fading into a soft smile, Hunter nuzzled along her father's cheek before resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes drifting closed. She snuggled close. Pulling her hand free from his she gently clutched onto his jacket and simply held him close. Optimus' arms closed around her in an affectionate embrace and his head came to rest atop hers, his cheek pressed again her hair. She could feel him smiling and that only made her smile more. This was the warmest, happiest, and most loved the teenager had ever felt in her entire life up to and including the year she had come to find and live with Team Prime. Hunter finally realized it. Everything she had been through from the time Comet Thunder had left her at the orphanage at the age of three to now—all of the broken hearts, the pain, the rejection, the feelings of failure—they had all led her to Optimus, to this moment. All those years of wondering why her time never came finally made sense. Her time to find a family had never come because this, right here, right now, was her time. She had a home, a family, and everything she'd ever wanted. The teen still wasn't completely sure why Comet Thunder had originally given her up—maybe she'd never truly understand—but she didn't care anymore. In fact, Hunter couldn't be more grateful to him. Because of him and his decisions she was here now and she couldn't even begin to imagine being anywhere else. She didn't want to.

"_Thanks, Dad,_" Hunter quietly sent the thought out, hoping Comet heard it and realized just how sincerely she meant it. The sixteen-year-old cuddled closer to her spark-father. She listened on to the steady beat of his spark as it almost seemed to fall in time the rhythm of the song. "I love you, Daddy," she murmured without thinking.

Smile widening, Optimus allowed his eyes to drift closed and held his daughter closer. "And I love you, Hunter," he whispered back. "More than I can describe." The Prime lifted his head, smoothed her hair and placed a kiss there before pressing his cheek to her head again.

And the song continued on: "_There is no mountain… that I can't climb. For you I'd swim through the rivers of time…._"

* * *

"Feeling any better, Bulkhead?" Arcee questioned her large teammate, trying to keep from laughing. The ex-Wrecker didn't look so good, and to be perfectly honest, it wasn't all that surprising. After all Miko had taken him on the rollercoaster about twelve times!

"I'm… I'm… I'm okay," Bulk managed to weakly stutter as he sat on the bench, pale in complexion and shivering ever so slightly. "I'll be okay."

"Aw, come on, Bulk!" Miko chastised him as she punched his shoulder. "Dude, I thought you were made of tougher stuff than this. Grow some back bone—cowboy up!"

Bulkhead was still a little to petrified to retort, if he had even heard what she'd said to begin with. So many ups and downs. So many moment of weightlessness and feeling like he was falling. Thankfully holoforms weren't capable of producing vomit, but the mech was sure he'd be purging later when he was back at the base in his true form.

"How'd you guys like the rodeo show?" Jack asked of Raf and Bumblebee.

Grinning a mile wide, 'Bee gave a thumbs up.

"It was great!" Raf replied. "Along with calf-roping and steer wrestling they also did some trick riding and rope tricks and stuff. It was really cool!"

"And what did Doc 'bot think?" Epps asked sticking a piece of licorice into his mouth.

"I think he liked it okay," Raf answered. "I mean, with Ratchet it's kinda hard to tell sometimes but…" the young boy trailed off as his gaze was drawn beyond Epps. His eyes widened in shock. "R-R-Ratchet…?" he stammered.

Everyone turned and looked to see Ratchet at one of the booths were they were selling cowboy hats and miniature lassos. The medic currently had one of those lassos and was spinning it around in front of him, looking mighty pleased. In fact it almost looked like he was having fun! It was terrifying! Almost has if he could sense he was being watched, the old mech looked up to see seven pairs of eyes all staring at him in amazement. After looking at them for a moment, he slowly looked down towards the lasso. Quickly he hid the lasso behind his back and averted his gaze skyward, whistling as though nothing strange was going on there. But deep down he knew. Busted!

But Ratchet was spared from further humiliation, because right then the last few members of their group arrived, Hunter and Annabelle leading them over. Annabelle was on Hunter's shoulders, holding something pink and purple and fluffy. She looked overjoyed.

As they came closer to the table Annabelle began putting up a fuss, trying to get down off Hunter's shoulders. When the teen finally lowered her to the ground, the little girl darted forward. "Hey, everybody!" she shouted. "Look at what Hunter won me!" She held up the fluffy thing she was holding to reveal it. A stuffed unicorn.

"Wow, that's great, Annabelle," Raf said with a smile.

"Eh, I've seen better," Miko replied. "Well, I have," she stated matter of factually when everyone shot her a glare.

"What's his name?" Jack asked the little girl.

"Penelope," Annabelle answered proudly.

"That's a nice name," Arcee stated.

"So how many tried did it take you to get that thing, Red?" Miko questioned with a smirk. She knew the Hybrid's aim wasn't the greatest and never failed to snag any opportunity to tease her about it.

Knowing what her friend was trying to do, Hunter gave Miko a look. "Ah-heh-heh-heh," she mocked laughed, sticking out her tongue. "You're hilarious, _**Pig-tails**_. For your information my aim has greatly improved. And by the way, I won that unicorn in three shots. So you can stick that in your pipe and smoke it."

Miko just snickered evilly.

"Your aim in improving every day, love," Optimus chuckled, kissing his daughter's head and giving her shoulders a squeeze as he came up behind her

Hunter looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad."

"So," Will sighed, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders, "how was everyone's evening? Did we all enjoy the fair?"

"They have a lotta great rides here," Miko commented. "I'm impressed. The roller coaster is really rockin'!"

"What about you, Autobots?" Sarah asked.

"I wouldn't want to do it every year," Arcee confessed, then she smiled, "but it's nice once in a while."

"What about you, Ratchet?" Hunter asked, looking over at the medic.

Ratchet seemed frozen for a moment, trying to find an answer that wouldn't make it sound like he enjoyed it as much as he had but also wouldn't make it seem as though he hated it. "It was… decent," he settled. "Like Arcee I wouldn't want to do it every year."

"Not even if they had the rodeo show?" Miko prodded knowingly.

Everyone snickered. Ratchet just shot a collective glare their way.

"Epps, is that all you've been doing all night?" Will asked off his army buddy who was still chowing down on his licorice.

Epps looked up at him, pausing in his chewing for a moment so that a strand of licorice hung from his lips unmoving before he began chewing again. "What, man?" he muttered through a mouthful of candy. "Carnival food only comes to town every other year, I'm gonna enjoy it while it's here."

"I hope you're planning on working all of that off," Hunter commented with a slight grimace.

Epps gave her a patronizing smile. "Hunter, I'm the only hired hand at the ranch, even if I didn't want to, I'd work this stuff off." With that he took a particularly aggressive bite out of his licorice.

"On that note," Will said, taking everyone into his gaze again, "good to know everyone had a good time tonight. And now that we're all together again, Sarah and I would like to make an announcement." The man looked over at his wife who in turn met his eyes. For a moment they shared a gaze of utter love and joy before turning to look at everyone else again.

"Will and I would like to let you all know that we're expecting," Sarah said.

For a moment everyone simply sat/stood and stared in silent confusion, but that was quickly broken when Hunter gasped, hands covering her mouth and eyes wide. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, voice muffled by her hands. "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Bulkhead questioned.

"We're pregnant," Will said.

"We're having another baby," Sarah made it even easier to understand.

Everyone erupted, all coming over to shake Will and Sarah's hands and congratulate them.

"What do you think about that, Annabelle?" Hunter questioned, crouching down to the little girl's height. "You're gonna be a big sister!"

"You mean, I'm gonna have a baby to talk to and take care of and read stories to and sing to sleep?" Annabelle questioned.

"Yeah," Hunter replied with a grin. "You are. What do you think?"

"I don't know," Annabelle confessed. "I've never been a big sister before. How do I know I'll be good at it?"

"You'll make a great big sister, Annabelle," Jack assured the child.

"Hunter, will you teach me how to be a good big sister?" the little girl asked, bringing out her puppy-dog eyes again. "You're the bestest big sister ever."

Chuckling, Hunter reached out and affectionately smoothed a hand over Annabelle's golden hair. "Of course I'll teach you, kiddo," she replied.

"In that case, yay!" Annabelle pumped her fists up in the air, unicorn dangling by its leg in one of her hands. "I'm gonna be a big sister! Yippee!" She started to dance around.

After several minutes when everybody had congratulated Will and Sarah the ruckus died down. It was at this moment that Optimus decided it was his turn to make an announcement. "Well," he said, clearing his throat and drawing everyone's attention, "it would seem as though this night has been one for proclamations. I do not intend of being left out, for I have something I would like to say as well." Smiling, the Prime looked over at Hunter. "Hunter, would you come here, Sweet-spark?"

Looking a bit confused, Hunter slowly nodded her head and came back to his side. She watched as her spark-father wrapped an arm around her shoulders and then looked up to see him smiling and gazing down at her. The teen couldn't help but smile a bit. Why were his smiles so contagious?

With his spark-daughter by his side, Optimus took everyone else into his gaze again. "I have been keeping a secret from you all," he announced, admittedly looking a little sheepish. "Now I realize that that is not something I generally do, and to be quite honest I wasn't quite comfortable with it. But it was something I had to do for the good of everyone until I was sure what I was trying to achieve would come to pass. For the past several weeks, ever since Hunter and Annabelle's birthday party, I have been meeting with Agent Fowler on an… off-the-record basis you might say. You see," the Prime suddenly smiled down at his daughter again, "he was trying to help me accomplish something that I would not have been able to do on my own otherwise. Something that I know will not change one or even two lives, but many forever." With that, Optimus turned to face Hunter fully, taking both her hands between his and meeting her eyes, making the girl feel as though he was gazing right into her spark. "My dearest Hunter," he began softly, "the day you came into my life I never could have guessed where our paths would lead. From bounty hunters to high-speed battles—and yes—even death," he regretted having mentioned it when he saw a brief shadow of pain come into Hunter's eyes before she looked down at the ground, "we have been through much together." He looked around at everyone else and amended, "We all have."

The Prime looked at the teenager again. "I may not have been able to tell what you coming into my life would bring… but one thing I do know for certain: It was the most blessed day of my life." He couldn't help but smile at the sudden shock in Hunter's eyes. "It was the most blessed day of my life," the Autobot commander repeated, "and every day since then has been filled with that same blessing. I have witnessed you grow and learn and in the course of a year you have come to make me the proudest father any mech could be." He reached up and cupped her cheek, lovingly caressing her cheekbone with his callused thumb. "I love you more than anything, Huntress Starstreaker James. Perhaps we are only bonded by spark, but to me you are in every possible way my own daughter. I have absolutely no knowledge of how I came to be fortunate enough to call you my daughter, but whatever it was I am most grateful for it. I also do not know what the future may hold for us. Even now we are in a time of uncertainty and vigilance. But I do know that whatever else may come at us, I want us to be prepared for it in every possible way—I want everything to be secure."

Narrowing her gaze, Hunter watched the Prime carefully, looking him up and down. It wasn't unlike Optimus to say he loved her in front of the entire team, but he didn't usually make a speech out of it. Where was he going with this.

"Hunter," Optimus went on, "I know that we do not require a piece of paper to assure us that we are family—that you are my daughter and I am your father," the Prime let go of her hands and reached inside his jacket. Grabbing the envelope he began to pull it out. "We do not need it," he repeated with a shake of his head as he carefully unfolded the envelope and straightened it out, "but I believe others might." He met her eyes again. "I want to go forth secure in the knowledge that everyone knows you are my daughter. I want to be assured that you can never be taken away from me."

Hunter's eyes widened as it dawned on her. The girl tried to gasp but she found her breath suddenly stolen away. Was this really happening? Was he…?

Optimus smiled, knowing that she was finally beginning to understand what was happening. Opening the Manilla envelope, the mech reached inside it and slipped out the papers. "Perhaps, you would like to see the proof for yourself," he suggested, handing the papers over.

Slowly, almost like she was afraid that they would fade away if she touched them, Hunter took the papers from Optimus' hands and began looking them over, reading slowly and carefully every word. She'd never seen these documents before—only ever dreamed about them—but now here they were right in her hands! They certainly looked authentic. But were they really? She looked up at her spark-father again, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Is it… are they… are you really… I mean…" she tried to voice a dozen things, but the words just couldn't come past the lump in her throat. This was almost too good to be true!

Chuckling warmly, Optimus nodded. "Huntress Starstreaker James," he pronounced her full name very slowly, with feeling and purpose, "you are without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me." He put his hands on her shoulders and bowed his head, looking deeper into her eyes than he ever had before. Hunter could see a few tears beginning to shine there. "Would you allow me the greatest honor of becoming your _**legal**_ father?"

Hunter's spark stopped. She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe it! It was really happening! Finally after all these years of wondering and waiting and worrying it was finally happening! She was being adopted! _**Optimus**_ was adopting her! Hunter's mind still wasn't working, but it didn't have to be in order for her to spit out the answer. "Yes," she said, voice hardly above a whisper. "Yes. Yes. Yes! _**YES!**_ Dropping the adoption papers the sixteen-year-old threw her arms around the holoform's neck, clinging for dear life, tears streaming down her face. She buried her face in Prime's neck as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around. It had finally come true! Her wish of being adopted was finally coming true! Hunter couldn't keep this to herself anymore. Shoving away from her father, the redhead ran over to the picnic table that everyone had been seated at and jumped up on it. She turned to face her family and the rest of the fair grounds. "Hey!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs, cheeks wet with her tears. "Hey, everybody! Guess what?! It's happened! It's finally happened! I'm getting adopted! **OPTIMUS PRIME IS ADOPTING ME!**" With a wild whoop the girl leapt down off the table, performing a spin as she did, and lunged back into her spark-father's arms, knocking him to the ground.

"Whoa-oof!" Optimus laughed and wrapped his arms around the girl. This reaction was better than anything he could have hoped for. Of course he knew Hunter would be happy about his announcement, but he certainly hadn't been counting on this.

"Thank you," Hunter wept into his chest. The poor girl was so overcome by emotions she was laughing and crying all at once! "Thank you, so much! You don't know what this means to me…" she dropped off as she started sobbing. All she could think of was: "Finally! Finally!" It was finally happening to her.

Sitting up, Optimus cradled the girl in his lap, rocking her back and forth as he instinctively tried to calm her tears. But these tears weren't bad ones. They were the very best of happy tears, and they were well deserved. A few of the Prime's own tears began dripping down his holoform cheeks. "Believe me, Sweet-spark," he murmured into her ear, "I do know. I do."

Hunter could only hold onto him tighter. This truly was the greatest night ever.

* * *

**Confession #34:**

** I can't even tell you how much I looked forward to writing this chapter. It made me so happy when I was finally able to start writing—it was just… *squeals for joy* Ahem! Okay, got that outta my system, I'm good now.**

**Confession #35:**

** I hope you guys enjoy this happiness while you can, because, as you can probably already guess because you know me, it's not going to be that way for long. *snickers evilly***

** Hunter: *glares at me* I hate you….**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	12. What was Found

**Finally have this chapter done! Sorry it took so long, guys—it just seemed to drag on and on and I just didn't feel very inspired with it for a long time. Writer's block was part of it. Another part is that we are in lambing season right now and are starting on calving season, so I have more chores to do and a late night shift to check everything so I'm just tired. Among that and homework my brain and body just got fried and it was so easy to just sit down and do nothing productive otherwise. But that's no excuse—I know. The important thing is this chapter is done and is here and we'll be moving onto into the big movement in the next chapter. After this things are gonna start getting pretty dark and pretty tense. They're already getting tense here.**

**SunnySides—Ratchet: *reads your comment* *snorts* Not if you paid me with all the energon in the universe! *storms away***

**Me: Well then….**

**Onward!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Nick Glennie-Smith; _Look Around You_

12

Ω Quis non Invenit Ω

(What was Found)

Aboard the Elysium;

The doors to the cockpit of the ship whooshed open and Greasy came through them, looking a little worse-for-wear. The old Hybrid wasn't a fan of the thought of flying, even on a space-ship that was a smooth sailing as this one was, because it wasn't so much the idea of turbulence that made him sick. It was the idea of crashing and burning. _**Literally**_. Needless to say, Greasy would be happy when they finally got on the ground of Mars. "What's our heading, Captain?" he questioned the tall Hybrid female standing there behind the pilots. "Please tell me we're almost there." Greasy was not so proud as to keep the desperation out of his voice.

Chuckling lightly, Captain Haven Blake looked over her shoulder and smiled down at the little man. "You really weren't joking about the flying thing," she commented with some amusement.

Greasy looked up at her and managed to return a sly smirk as he shot back, "I was unaware my words were in doubt." He walked up to stand beside Haven.

The light-haired woman snorted and looked back towards the window again. "Well, you're in luck, old man," she answered his previous question. "We're approaching the planet now; won't be too much longer before we can touch down and fine out what went wrong out here."

"Thank Primus," Greasy heaved in relief, all but collapsing into a pile of goo on the floor.

Just as Haven had promised, they came upon Mars in record time and passed over the planet's red, rusty surface before finally coming upon the site of the base. Everyone's sparks stopped at the site, their stomachs plunging into a bottomless pit. The same expression was on everybody's lips as their eyes widened in utter horror: "By Primus…."

It was the quintessence of the nightmare no one had wanted to believe could possibly be. Outpost Epsilon… it was gone! There was nothing left there but piles of rubble and the fields around the rubble were littered with the sparkless, gray frames of the previous crew. The Mars soil around the base was blackened as if a fire had wiped over and charred it, patches of it obviously energon-stained. This place was Armageddon.

"I'm not reading any signs of life on the scanners, Captain," one of the pilots reported.

"As morbid as it sounds," Captain Haven sighed heavily with a shake of her head, "I can't say I'm surprised. Whatever happened here it would have been a miracle for anyone to survive. Set down and we'll scout around. Maybe we can find some information about the fate of the outpost and our comrades."

Greasy remained silent. Even though he couldn't be completely positive of anything as of yet, he was about 100% sure what had happened here—what had caused this destruction. He could already sense the vibe of power coming from the demolition. She had been here. Luna had done this.

* * *

In robotic form, Greasy and Captain Haven stood off to the side of the ship's ramp, watching on in silence as the Haven's crew scouted the area, looking for information and—as impossible as it seemed to everyone—any survivors of the obvious attack. Greasy kept his eyes trained on Sergeant Gatling Jones, Haven's second in command, as he conferred with one of the scout's further down the field. After a moment or two he saw Gatling's shoulders slump and he knew the worst had been confirmed. The old Hybrid said nothing as both he and Haven watched the Sergeant turn around and come back in their direction, head hanging a bit and his feet ever so slightly dragging.

"Judging from your stance," Haven replied when Gatling was standing before them, "I can already guess what the news is. And it isn't good." Her voice, usually so confident, proud, and strong, was now soft and melancholy. She had known many of the crew members here—either trained them or with them: They weren't just her friends, they had been her family. And now….

Retracting his battle-mask, Jones nodded sadly. "'Fraid not, Captain," he answered. "There are no survivors."

A corner of Haven's mouth twisted in sadness before she managed to still it again. "What… what of Captain Marx?" she managed to get the question out, but just barely. She feared the answer to this inquiry more than any other. She and Bullet had been friends. They'd entered training at the same time and had been in the same squad; they'd trained side-by-side and had been teamed up more than once for missions. They'd even become captains at the same time. Even after they'd been separated and given their own squads to command they'd managed to stay in touch, even with Marx here and she back on Earth. They knew each other's families and friends. Bullet had even attended her wedding via web cam from the base three years ago and had given a toast at the reception as well. In all reality they hadn't just been friends—they'd been brother and sister in arms.

Gatling opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, unable to get the words out. He looked down. He knew his captain's relationship with Captain Bullet, and he knew this was going to be hard on her.

"Gatling?" Captain Blake prodded gently. She had to know.

"I'm…" the Sergeant began, still looking down. He finally gathered up all his strength and met Haven's golden optics. "I'm sorry, Haven," he instinctually slipped out of formalities in order to try and help cushion the blow. He knew it wouldn't work. "He's… gone." The orange and black mech turned to the silver helm he was holding in the crook of his arm and held up up. He handed it over to his captain. "Judging from what we found at the scene he put up a good fight," he informed. "He fought with valor and died with honor."

Captain Haven reached out and tenderly took the headset away from her sergeant, cradling it in her hands as she brought it close. She gazed down upon it with both fondness and sadness. Bullet was gone. Her brother… was gone. Tears biting at her optics and threatening to spill over, the femme pressed her lipplates together in the firm line and bit the inside of her cheek. "_Good-bye, Brother_," she sent out the silent prayer. "_You will be greatly missed._" Sniffling the slightest bit, Haven cleared her throat and pulled the helm closer to her chest in a sort of hug. "Captain Bullet Marx," she croaked out, voice slightly cracking, "was a courageous mech and… the finest Hybrid I have ever had the pleasure of knowing." Her gaze went to the sky. "He was a true hero and will never be forgotten." Taking the silent cue, Greasy and Gatling stood with the Captain in a moment of silence to remember and honor the fallen Hybrid Captain.

"Captain Blake!" The shout pulled everyone out of their respective thoughts and caused them to look down the field over towards the rubble of the base. One of the scouts was running back towards them and he looked pretty anxious. "Captain Blake, Sergeant Jones, you need to come quickly!"

"What is it soldier?" Jones questioned in a barking tone. "What's got you in an uproar?"  
"A survivor, sir," the mech relayed the message. "We've found one, but she's just barely alive."

Greasy was already rushing forward, the only thing keeping him at trot the fact that he didn't know precisely where he was going. "Show us, son," he ordered. "Where?"

The young mech looked with uncertainty at Greasy and then looked up to his commanding officers again.

As one Blake and Jones nodded. "It's okay, Biggs," the Captain assured him. "Take us."

Biggs nodded, turned away, and started running back in the direction he'd come, the others following him. He led them back down the hill and through the rubble before they finally came upon a small group crouched around a brown and gold colored femme. She was lying prone on a stretcher, badly wounded, just barely managing to hold on to consciousness. The field medic was by her side, trying to repair the major damage so that she could be moved to the infirmary aboard the ship. Another of the soldiers crouched beside her was working at setting up a portable energon drip and getting it into vein in her arm.

Greasy rushed forward and knelt beside the femme, taking her hand in his. "It's all right," he soothed her, watching as she cracked open her eyes to look at him. "It's all right now, you're safe—we have you."

The femme barely opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out, so she just made a nearly imperceptible nod instead. A single tear of relief trickled out of her optic and down her energon stained cheekplate.

"What's your name?" Greasy inquired slowly. "Can you tell me your name?"

Once again the femme opened her mouth to talk. A single noise came from her throat this time, but before she could get anything out her optics rolled back into her head and closed. Going limp she slipped into unconsciousness.

Captain Haven came forward. "Get her aboard the ship," she ordered her soldiers, optics still trained on the comatose femme. "Hurry! The sooner he can revive her the sooner we can have some answers as to what's happened here." She watched on as the soldiers quickly finished prepping the femme and stepped off to the side when they hoisted her and began to carry her back to the ship. Haven watched after them and then turned to share a glance with Greasy. This wasn't good.

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

_He was standing at edge the Well of All Sparks, back facing the pit as he gazed out upon Cybertron. He hadn't seen it like this since before the war. Everything was restored; shiny and sparkling and better than new, 'bots hurrying this way and that, children laughing and playing—it was an impeccable paradise. Feeling a presence materialize beside him, he questioned, "It is beautiful, is it not?"_

_"Magnificent," a familiar and warm voice answered. "As beautiful as I have ever seen it. And one day it will even more beautiful again."_

_He nodded. "Yes," he agreed. "One day."_

_A silence fell and lingered until the mech standing beside him asked, "How is the child, Optimus? Is she well? Are you protecting her?"_

_He looked over at the mech and met his gaze. It had been age since he looked into those comforting optics. "I am, Alpha Trion," he answered. "I am doing all I can to keep her safe and make her feel loved."_

_Alpha Trion looked away and gazed out upon the landscape once again. "Do you believe she can fulfill her destiny?"_

_"Yes," he answered without the slightest hesitation. "I do." He too looked back out onto Cybertron. "I have every faith and confidence in her. She is my daughter, and I love her, and as such I will trust her as she trusts me."_

_"And you would save her?" Alpha Trion asked once again, looking at him. "No matter the trial? No matter what you had to go through to do it, you would save her?_

_He looked at his old mentor in a serious and stern manner. "Of course," he answered adamantly. "Hunter is my daughter—I will always save her." He became quiet for a moment as he studied the old mech carefully, realizing there was more meaning behind his question. "Something is wrong," he finally came to the conclusion, "is it not?"_

_Sighing, Alpha Trion looked down and closed his optics as he shook his head. "I am afraid I cannot say, Optimus," he replied sorrowfully. "It is not my place." He met his protégé's eyes once again. "All I can tell you is that a darkness is coming—a darkness that threatens the very universe. You must save Huntress, Optimus. For the good of everyone in the universe as well as her own, you must save the Fuser."_

_"I do not understand, Alpha Trion," he confessed. "What do you mean I must save Hunter? Is she in danger? What is coming?"_

_"There is no time," Alpha Trion commented, not even seeming to hear him. "There is no time now. You must save her, Optimus. Save Hunter." With that Alpha Trion was gone._

_He stood there in quiet bewilderment. "Save Hunter"? Save her from what? What as coming? What was coming that left no time to explain? What darkness? Darkness from where? Suddenly there was a roar and he looked up to see a large circular black mass in the sky, a rainbow of color circling 'round its edges. Without warning it suddenly surged forward and engulfed everything in darkness._

_Now he was spinning the black, spiraling as he shot upwards alone into the unknown. There was nothing above him, below him or around him but darkness. Cold, unrelenting darkness._

_"NOOO!"_

_The sudden scream caused him to look upwards towards an oncoming image. It was blurry and translucent at first, but the closer her came to it the more discernable and solid it became. A chill stabbed through his spark when he could finally make it out. "Hunter!"_

_His daughter was standing there, imprisoned in some type of what seemed to be a torture device, her arms and legs bound. She was struggling, trying to break free but she couldn't. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as a look of sheer desperation was plastered to her face. She was screaming, crying, begging. "NOOO! LET ME GO! YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO!"_

_Suddenly he was out of the black and floating beside her in a large room. They weren't the only ones there. Down below them on the floor were Starscream, Bombardier, and a third figure he couldn't quite make out and they were all battling… against him? Yes, he was down there with them, fighting them, trying to hold them off. But they were coming at him relentlessly, beating him down, and no matter what he did he couldn't escape. But… how could he be down there when he was up here?_

_"STOP IT!"_

_He turned to look at Hunter and found her gazing in horror down at the battle occurring below them. She was struggling and fighting harder, trying to free herself to get down there and help him, but she couldn't break loose! He had to calm her down! He had to make her realize that it was all right—that he was there beside her—that what she was seeing wasn't real. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Hunter…" he gasped and pulled away in shock when his hand went right through her. What in the AllSpark…?_

_"STOP!" Hunter screamed, just as desperate as before. "STOP IT, PLEASE! DON'T HURT HIM—LET HIM GO, I'M BEGGING YOU! PLEASE!"_

_She was so terrified! He had to help her! "Hunter!" he bellowed. "Hunter, I am here!" He moved around to the front of her and placed his face right in front of hers, looking into her eyes. "Sweet-spark, I am right here!"_

_But it was no use. She couldn't see him—she looked straight through him like he wasn't even there! "NO! NO, PLEASE!"_

_He turned to see that his other self was now on the ground, badly injured, trying to get back up but failing to do so. The shadowy figure suddenly pulled out a sword and walked up to him. Raising the sword high, they swiftly brought it down into his spark._

_"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

_He looked back to see Hunter struggling in a frenzy to get loose, tears cascading down her cheeks while she watched on as his other self was slaughtered. Desperately he went to her again, trying to make her see him. "Hunter, My Shooting Star, please listen to me! See me!"_

_"DAD! DAD, NO! DADDY! YYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Hunter suddenly threw her head back, a kaleidoscopic, star-studded beam surging into her and threw her, make her glow brighter and brighter and brighter until he was forced to shield his optics and look away._

_When he opened his eyes again he standing at the edge of a crater, dusting and smoking hanging in the air around him. If finally settled and he looked down to see Hunter lying there at the center of the crater. Without a second to lose he ran for her. "Hunter!" he screamed. "Hunter!" Finally collapsing so his knees beside her he tenderly rolled her over and cupped her cheek with a hand, tenderly caressing it with his thumb. Her eyes were closed, a trail of energon ran down her chin from the corner of her mouth and another from a large gash above her eyebrow. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't moving. She wasn't doing anything! He couldn't even sense her spark-beating, all he could sense was… a cold, excruciating emptiness in his spark. And he knew. He was too late. Tears biting his optics and trickling down his cheekplates he bit his lipplate as he tried to fight back the sobs welling in his chest. Hunter was gone. His daughter was gone! And this time… she wasn't coming back. Curling his body over the girl, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her close one last time, rocking her. He lifted his head to the sky and screamed in tragic anguish. "Aaaaahhhhh!"_

_Lightning split the sky as thunder quaked it and rain poured down, chilling him to the very core but he didn't care. He couldn't even feel it. The only thing he could feel was the emptiness left by the one thing he loved more than anything else in the world, the one thing that had reciprocated that love with the utmost sincerity. Hunter was gone, and that was all he could feel._

* * *

Yelling, Optimus awoke with a start, optics wide in horror, spark beating a mile a second, and chassis violently trembling. For a moment he remained on high alert and then he recognized the familiar dimness of his berthroom and relaxed. He heaved a shaking sigh as he moved to sit on the edge of his berth, wiping away the cold coolant and the few tears that had managed to find their way down his cheekplates. What a horrible dream! But that's all it was—a dream—no matter how bad it had been it was just a dream. Or was it? It hadn't exactly… felt like a dream, at least not the first half of it with Alpha Trion. What was he had said? Something about a darkness and… danger and… and…. Oh, he couldn't remember it all! That was the trouble with dreams: The really good ones or the really important stuff in them that you wanted and should remember never stayed with you. If this was the case, it must have all just been a dream then.

Still even if his common sense told him that, his spark wasn't calming down. That dream had just been too real; he could still see Hunter lying in his arms, still feel her dead weight in his grip. It was too unsettling. Sighing heavily, the Prime flattened his pedes on the floor and stood to walk towards the door that separated his room from his spark-daughter's. He opened it as quietly as he could and peered inside. Smiling and chuckling at what he saw, the mech pushed the door all the way open and leaned up against the frame with his arms crossed over his chassis. He shook his head. Hunter could be a comic even when she wasn't trying to be. As of now she was half-hanging off her berth, somehow managing to keep from slipping off it to fall to the floor. What was even more comical was the fact that she was so sound asleep she was snoring more loudly than she usually did. Still laughing quietly, the Prime crept into the room and gently moved his daughter back up into a proper position on her berth and tucked her in. The femmling didn't even stir. She was out like a light, and it wasn't a surprise; she'd had a busy day with an emotional ending. A happily emotional ending. Bending down, Optimus pressed a tender kiss to Hunter's forehead and gazed lovingly down at her, the uneasiness in his spark settling now that he had assurance she was safe and well. He turned away, leaving one last caress on her cheekplate, and began to leave the room. He was almost at the door when another unsettling feeling came over his spark, but this time it wasn't his. Pausing, the red and blue Cybertronian turned back to look at his spark-daughter.

Hunter was moving now, shifting around underneath her thermal tarp and tossing and turning. Her faceplate, which had previously been peaceful, was now pinched and tense. She was moaning and muttering under her breath, and was growing louder with each passing moment. At the same time, her restlessness grew. Then the fearful panting started in as she continued murmuring "no" over and over again. A few tears seeped out from beneath her tightly closed optic shutters and dripped down her cheeks.

It was the tears that brought Optimus rushing back. It wasn't often he caught Hunter in a nightmare, but when he did he usually tried to wake her before it became too terrible. Sitting down on her berth the Prime grabbed Hunter's shoulders and gently began shaking her. "Hunter," he called her. "Hunter. Wake up, My Shooting Star. It's just a dream. It is just a dream." He continued to try and rouse.

Finally Hunter woke up—either on her own accord or with Optimus' help, it wasn't certain—and when she did it wasn't pretty. With a sharp gasp, Hunter bolted upright only to be caught and stopped from jumping up by a strong arm. "Not again! Not again!" she cried. She remained in a trance for a moment longer before finally coming out of it and clutching onto the warm arm wrapped around her. Biting her lipplate, she buried her face in Optimus' shoulderplating. "Daddy…" she whimpered pathetically, voice quivering.

"Shh," Optimus soothed, rubbing her back. "Shh, it's all right. I am here. I have you." He rested his cheekplate against her helm and slowly rocked her as he whispered comfortingly in Cybertronian into her audio-receptor.

It took a few minutes before the Prime was finally able to get his spark-daughter to calm down, but when she did they pulled away from each other and met optics. Hunter sniffled as she dried hers. "It was terrible," she confessed. "I haven't had a dream like that since… well, I guess since the Lennoxes started fostering me."

"What happened?" Optimus gently prodded. He wiped away a stray tear with a careful digit.

Hunter swallowed hard and shook her head. "It was… Child Services," she gulped looking down as she folded her hands in her lap. "They were here and they were…" her voice dropped off as she tried to swallow a sob welling up in her throat, "… they were taking me away again." There was unbelievable pain in her voice as she said it and an underlying fear in it. "It was happening again." Sniffling, she looked up and met her spark-father's eyes once again, tears welling up in her own. "It was happening all over again! Just like every other time before when I got comfortable and feel at home somewhere." Lipplate trembling she hung her head again, shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. "It never fails. Every time someone considers adopting me something goes wrong and I get taken back to the orphanage and put with another family." Her folded hands curled into tight fists. "I can't do it again, Dad!" she sobbed. "I can't take having all my dreams crushed again—I can't do it! I can't! I can't…." Lunging forward she wrapped her arms tightly around her father and pushed her face into his chestplate directly over his spark-chamber. "I can't go back again, Daddy," she whispered.

Optimus held her close and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "You won't," he assured her softly.

"How do you know?" Hunter challenged, looking up at him. "How do you know it won't happen again—it _**always**_ happens.

"Not this time," Optimus countered, shaking his head. "I will not let it happen."

"You might not be able to stop it," Hunter retorted. "What if this wasn't a dream? What if it was my foresight? If it was it will happen no matter what we try to do about it."

"But what if it was simply a dream?" Prime inquired.

"I pray to God it was," Hunter murmured. "But I'm not holding my breath."

"Sweet-spark…" the mech began.

"You have to promise me," the femmling interrupted him.

Optimus stared at her in bafflement. Promise her? Promise her what exactly? "Hunter?"

"You said that you wouldn't let it happen. You have to promise me you mean it. Promise that they won't take me away from you. Promise me."

Ah. Now he understood what she was talking about. The Prime gently held her face in his hands and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs as he leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. Then he bowed his head and pressed his forehead to hers as he meet her optics. "Hunter, I promise you I will not allow anybody to take you away from me. Whatever happens I will not allow it. I promise." When his spark-daughter threw her arms around him again, he returned the embrace and held her close, pressing a kiss to her helm. "I promise."

* * *

Mars—Aboard the Elysium;

The door to the infirmary hissed open and Haven, Gatling, and Greasy came into the room, intent on finally getting some answers. "How is she, Rogers?" Haven questioned the ship's medic. She came over to stand beside the berth and gazed down at the yet unconscious femme laying there. The Captain couldn't help but shake her in pity. Whatever had killed everyone else had absolutely torn this femme apart—it was amazing she was even alive.

"Well, I've pretty much patched her up," Rogers stated, entering, the femme's vitals into his datapad as he did. "And her energon levels are stable now, so my guess would be she'll be coming back to the land of the living pretty soon." Looking up from his datapad, the amber mech looked after at his commanding officers. "Let's hope she just remembers whatever happened here."

Without warning a quiet groan arose of the femme and all optics turned to her. She began to stir and, after a few moments, slowly opened her optics before looking dazedly around the room. Her gaze finally fell on the faces looking down on her. She started panicking. Panting heavily she tried to sit up when white hot pain ripped through her body, paralyzing her. "Ugh!"

"Easy, Soldier," Gatling soothed. "Just take it easy now—you're safe. We're friendlies here."

That seemed to set the femme at easy. The fear faded from orange optics and she settled back to the birth as she relaxed. "Thank Primus," she whispered, voice slightly breaking.

"What's your name and rank, Soldier?" Haven questioned intently.

"Wolff," the femma answered. "Sergeant Calypso Wolff."

"I am Captain Haven Blake," the captain introduced herself. "This is Sergeant Gatling Jones and Greasy Coggs—the founder of the outpost program."

Stepping forward on his introduction, Greasy put a hand on Calypso's arm and met her optics with a serious gaze. "Sergeant," he sighed, "I know that you've been through a lot and this is probably the last thing you want to discuss so soon, if ever, but we have some questions we're hoping you could answer for us."

"You wanna know what happened here," Calypso guessed, though she sounded sure. It wasn't hard to guess what they wanted to talk about after all. "Am I right?"

Greasy, Haven, and Gatling all exchanged a look before turning back to her. "Well, um," Gatling cleared his throat, "actually yeah. That's exactly it."

Wolff nodded and slowly tried to sit up. It took a while in order to get through the pain that slammed into her with every move she made but eventually she was sitting up. "To be honest," she sighed, grimacing a bit as she tried to settle into her new position, "there's some details I don't remember real well—like blank spots in my memory."

"Just tell us whatever you can remember, Wolff," Haven encouraged her. She sat down on the edge of the berth and put a hand on the femme's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Anything you have to say will be helpful. Start with the last thing you remember."

Calypso looked down at her hands folded in her lap, sighing heavily as she squeezed them together. "The last thing I remember…" she began, trying as hard as she could to think back. Everything was so muddled and fuzzy, it was hard to concentrate and find what she was trying to look for, but finally it came to her. "There was… an explosion," she explained. "I remember there was an explosion. And then… there was a battle—but I can't seem to remember who with—and Bullet…." Her optics suddenly grew wide and she looked up to meet Haven's. "Captain Marx!" she exclaimed with a gasp, sitting forward. "Is he…?"

Sorrow settled in over Captain Blake's face and she lowered her gaze from Calypso's. Head hanging, she answered, "Gone, I'm afraid."

Tears immediately welled up in Wolff's eyes and she sniffled and desperately wiped at her optics, trying to dry them. Bullet was dead? How? Why?! Why was he dead and she still here? "I… I could tell the Captain was in trouble," Calypso went on, voice just beginning to break, "so I was trying to get to him to help… and that's when the second explosion happened. I was blown back into the base as it came down and got knocked out. I don't know how long I was out for, but when I came to again I hurt all over and I couldn't move. Everything was so… dark. But then there was this light and I looked up to see this… kid standing there, starin' at me. He had a sword drawn but he looked… confused—like he wasn't sure if he wanted to kill me or not. Finally he turned around and left me there. I sat there for the last two weeks, trapped, alone—I was sure I was goner until you all showed up." She looked up at them all and finally sighed, "That's all I can remember."

"Are you sure there's nothing else you can remember, Calypso?" Greasy questioned. "Anything at all?"

The femme met his optics and then looked down for a moment again, a contemplative look coming over her face as she tried to wrack her processor for more information. After a long moment she shook her head. "No," she answered softly. "Nothing."

"Not a name? Not a face? Not even an insignia? Anything that might tell us for sure who did this?"

Calypso met his gaze again and shook her head sorrowfully. "No," she replied. "I'm sorry, but no. I can't remember anything else."

Haven, Gatling, and Greasy all exchanged a look before nodding at and giving their thanks to the femme. Then they all left the room. "What do you make of it?" Gatling asked, directing the question at Greasy.

"I can't say for sure," the old Hybrid replied, stroking his long metal beard. "My gut tells me it's Luna, but with no proof I can't be positive." Sighing, he looked up at the younger Hybrids. "The only lead we've got to go on now is a fact that there was an explosion but no evidence of combustion, chemical reaction, radiation or electro-magnetism."

"Which only leaves magic right?" Haven inquired. "Sorcery?"

Greasy nodded. "That's what my gut tells me," he repeated, "but I still can't be sure."

"Captain Haven?"

All three turned to see a couple soldiers coming down the hall towards them, one of them holding what looked like a data-pad in her grip. "We've found something," the one with the object informed. "It was left on the briefing room table—pretty much the only thing of the base left standing." Coming up to her superior, the femme handed the device over. "It's not like the pads issued here."

Haven looked the mysterious data-pad over, looking for some type of clue to tell her anything about it. Was it a bomb? Some sort of tracking device? Where did it come from? She couldn't find anything and finally turned to Greasy. "Care to take a look?" she questioned, handing it to him. "If you're right about who it is, it might be for you."

Greasy took the pad with a nod of thanks and tapped the screen. It device lit up and at the center of the screen an insignia of a red crescent moon over a black one appeared. Though he had partially been expecting it, the old Hybrid's tank dropped. Primus, no….

A couple second later the insignia disappeared as the image of a rather imposing and sinister looking femme appeared on the screen. She smiled. "Ah, hello, Greasy," she said, a sickeningly chipper lilt in her voice.

"Luna…" Greasy rumbled, swallowing hard.

"It has been a long time, old friend. If you're watching this—and I'm sure you are—then it means that I have returned and my plan to drag you off Earth has succeeded. What do you think of the surprise I left for you on Mars? I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed: I was expecting your base to be a bit more of a challenge than it was." She sighed. "Oh, well. We can't have everything our own way, I imagine. Anyway, by the time you finally watch this I will have already arrived and re-established myself on Earth." A dark look came into Luna's raspberry optics as she added, "And by the time you return to Earth, I will have already repossessed the Fuser and returned to her the memories that you so thoughtlessly stripped away from her."

Optics widening, Greasy looked up at the soldiers. "Send out a message to the Council, the Hall of Memories and Autobot Outpost Omega One!" he barked. "Luna is on Earth and she's going for the Fuser! They need to be warned!"

The soldier nodded and began to turn and rush back down the hall towards the transmission room when suddenly the voice returned from the data-pad. "Ah, ah, ah," Luna was patronizingly scolding as she wagged a digit to and fro. "I know what you're thinking now, Greasy, and let me assure you it won't work. I've taken out the satellite orbiting Mars and the signal on your ship isn't strong enough to reach the one orbiting Earth by half. You will not be allowed to interfere with my plans again, Greasy." The smile had slipped from the femme's lipplates and she was glowering into the camera now. "Not this time! You ruined everything last time, but you won't be doing any of that this time around, _**old friend**_." There was heavy, biting sarcasm in her voice as she pronounced "old friend". "Hunter is _**mine**_, Greasy," Luna snarled. "She is _**mine **_and you know it. Nothing will stop me from taking her back again. Nothing. So I highly suggest that you and everyone else stay out of my way, lest I be forced to deal with you. _**Permanently**_. You can't stop me, Greasy. No one can." And with that the video ended and the screen flashed the insignia one more time before it went black. There was a sizzle and a small explosion before smoke began to rise up from the device.

A tense silence fell over the hall as Greasy continued to stare in horror at the data-pad and everyone else stared at him. Everyone was unsure of what to do or say. Greasy's mouth went dry and he could have sworn his spark stopped beating in its chamber. Luna was on Earth. _**Right now**_. She was going to go after Hunter and he wasn't there to stop her and he couldn't get a warning out to anybody else. This wasn't just bad. It wasn't even just horrible. There were absolutely no words known to sentient kind that could describe exactly what this situation was, but Greasy knew exactly what Hunter would say if she were here, and it came as close to putting everything into perspective as anything possibly could. They were screwed. They were all majorly screwed.

* * *

Nevada State Prison;

Cody Philips lay awake on the top bunk in his cell arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling through the darkness as his mind turned over and over. Too quiet. Prison cells were always _**way**_ too quiet. He wondered if this was what solitary confinement felt like. The young man sighed. Oh well, at least he didn't have some cellmate to try and push him around and tell him what to do like he had the last several times he'd been in the slammer. He could deal with the quiet to get away from that if he had to. Groaning, he rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, trying quiet his mind in order to get some sleep. He closed his brown eyes.

Cody was almost asleep when suddenly there came a soft whooshing sound and a feminine voice. "Hello, Cody."

The man jumped; nearly falling off his bunk the jolt awake had been so violent. With a yelp he clutched at his bunk in order to keep from falling and looked up and around the room until his eyes finally lit finely dressed woman standing in the corner of the room.

She was… beautiful to say the least; her presence was rather intoxicating. Then again she was a lady dressed like royalty in a prison cell, so it wasn't exactly that hard to be attractive against that's backdrop. But still. It was nearly impossible to tell her age as she looked young and older at the same time, and she seemed incredibly vital. Her smile was friendly, yet at the same time it held a shadow of something more dark and sinister beneath it. A dangerous glint gleamed in her eyes. And what eyes! They were so inhuman—not only because of their vivid color but because they almost seemed to glow through the dark. Man alive! She could almost be gorgeous just for those eyes alone!

"Wh-who are you?" Cody asked a bit breathlessly as he gulped. He'd never really been the type of guy who was attracted to women that much older than him, but this one was different. She wasn't just gorgeous she was… Philips didn't know. It was almost like she had under some sort of spell, if that didn't sound too cliché and fairytale-ish. "H-how did you get in here?"

The woman's smile turned coy and she came out from the corner of the room, a distinctive, suggestive sway in her step as she did so. Her form-fitting gown only seemed to highlight it as the material hugged her soft curves. This woman seemed to have it all. "Oh, don't worry about that, my boy," she replied, a feminine giggle in her voice. "Just know that I am here to help you." The sound of her heels clicking on the cement floor echoed in the room as she came closer and closer.

Cody kept eyeing her, not sure whether to trust this woman or not. Soon it wouldn't matter, because the longer she remained in his cell the further under her spell he slipped and the more entrancing she became. It wasn't long before she was all he could see, all he could smell, all he could think. Who the hell was this woman? "Help me?" Cody questioned.

"But of course, Cody," the woman replied, a tone in her voice that seemed to ask why he would even question her. "I want to help you. Do you not want help?"

"Of course I do!" Cody quickly assured her, for some reason not wanting to offend this female. (He wasn't sure if it was because he found her attractive or more so that he found her frightening.) "But… how?"

"Well," the woman began, "that would all depend on you. I understand that you are not exactly a newcomer to life behind bars, Mr. Philips. You have quite the criminal record: fraud, embezzlement, theft, blackmail, even counterfeiting. You're bail isn't exactly cheap. Oh, believe me, I can afford it, but I don't want to go exchanging my money until I knew for sure that it won't be wasted."

"Oh-kaaay," Cody murmured a little suspiciously, pulling back a little bit and looking the woman over once again. "Meaning?"

The woman's smile grew a bit dark. "I will help you, Cody, so long as he help me in turn. You see I want to take back something that was stolen from me long ago, but I need a con man such as yourself to get it back for me."

Philips was quiet for a long moment, thinking this over. Finally he slowly nodded, still not quite sure he liked how this was going, but too afraid and entranced by the woman to say no. "Okay," he conceded. "What is it I'd be doin' exactly?"

"Oh, don't worry about that yet," the woman dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand. "Well discuss all the details tomorrow when you're out of prison."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, darling, tomorrow. And I hope that you're swift on the uptake because the moment you get out of here I'll be putting you to work. Don't worry, you will be full compensated for your labor. So long as you succeed."

"Who are you?" Cody finally asked again. This woman sounded like she was just about ready to leave and he still didn't know a thing about her yet. The least he could get was a name, so maybe he'd have some idea of who he would be working for, or at least know who to come back and haunt if she ended up killing him. Philips still wasn't sure she wouldn't even if he did do as she asked.

The coyness returned to the woman's smile as she answered, "Luna. My name is Luna. And believe me when I say that I always get what I want, Mr. Philips. Always. I will see you tomorrow." With that the woman turned, took a couple steps away and waved both of her hands up her body, disappearing in a cloud of dark smoke and frightening the young man as she did so.

* * *

**Confession #36:**

** So. Tired! I'd sleep for a week if I were able to! *collapses on couch and immediately starts snoring***

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	13. A Warning from the Past

**Okay, so some news guys. Because I have so many ideas for this fic circulating around in my cranium I'm going to be putting everything else fanfic wise and focusing on this for the time being. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. We'll find out.**

**Also I hope everybody had a good Easter! And, in order or garner sympathy points, I've had stomach flu the past couple days, so reviews are much appreciated. They are my medicine!**

**Shadescribe—We'll be seeing some soon. Probably not next chapter, but almost definitely the chapter after that. Then there'll be quite a bit of action from here on out.**

**AllSpark Princess—Hope this is "asap" enough. XD**

**Alice Gone Madd-:D I am so proud of myself for that!**

**WolfAssassin369—You never know! We'll have to wait and see.**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"Hello. It's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet… to go over… everything. They say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing…" Adele; _Hello_

13

Ω A Monitum a quod PraeteritumΩ

(A Warning from the Past)

"I still can't believe this is actually happening!" Hunter squealed excitedly as she jumped up and down on the bed. "I'm actually getting adopted and I'm officially moving into the base!" The teen spun in the air with a whoop. Though she had been living at the base since after her final battle with Bombardier over a year ago (though one could easily argue she'd been living there since she'd first been saved by Optimus) she yet to actually move in. Most of the things she herself own were there, but the entire extent was now. Of course, being a foster-child most of her life she didn't own much, but Will and Sarah had generously decided to let Hunter keep the majority of what they had bought her when they'd first become her foster parents and take it with her. This kindness only helped the girl to love them even more… but not enough to convince her to not move into the base. After all, since she was being adopted by Optimus it would make no sense for her to continue keeping up the façade that she was still living in their home. There wouldn't be any more checks from Child Services. Not here. And if Fowler had pulled all the strings right—and he had assured everyone he had—there wouldn't be anymore Child Services related ever again. It was the extremely happy end of an era—one that had been much too long in Hunter's opinion.

The very thought of it all only made Hunter howl even louder with joy. Finally! It was finally here! No more being shuffled around from house to house, family to family: no more uncertainly of where she was headed and who she'd end up with! No more false hopes, hollow promises, and broken dreams! Finally official stability; a home, a family, and even more importantly, and father who loved her more than anything. This was just all too good to be true! "I have to be dreaming," Hunter remarked. "_**Nobody**_ pinch me! Whoo-hoo!" Tucking in her legs she did a backwards somersault in the air before landing on the bed again to continue bouncing.

Sighing, Optimus set down the boxes he'd carried into the room and stood there with his hands on his hips as he watched and shook his head at his daughter with a slight smile. They'd promised the Lennoxes they'd have Hunter moved out by supper-time, but how were they going to keep to that promise if Hunter spent the whole time celebrating? Time to get her to buckle down and do some work. "I might pinch you if you do not stop bouncing around like—what is the phrase you Earthlings use?—a jumping bean and help me pack," he threatened playfully, but with enough seriousness to tell her they needed to get busy.

"Aw, but I'm havin' fun!" Hunter pouted slightly. "Don't ruin my fun, Daddy."

Optimus crossed his arms and leaned back against the door case. Raising an eyebrow he gave a sly challenging look to his daughter and conceded, "All right, I won't. But I am willing to believe that Sarah will if she comes in here to find you jumping on her mattress. _**In your footwear**_." He emphasized the last statement.

With that the smile left Hunter's face and she quit jumping and fell to sit on the mattress, bouncing a bit. She directed a scowl at her spark-father, sticking out her tongue. "Meanie."

The Prime couldn't help but chuckle. "Put the glossa away," he murmured, coming towards her.

"It's not a glossa in this form," Hunter declared matter of factually. She stuck it out again to show him and explained, "Ith my thongue."

Optimus affectionately tousled the child's red hair. "Whatever it may be, put it away," he said with a gentle style. Leaning down he placed a kiss on her hairline before walkine away again to pick up the boxes and bring them back. He set them in Hunter's lap. "Pack now," he ordered. "We will celebrate later."

Hunter released a long-suffering sigh and took up the boxes as she stood. "Whatever you say, Sir-Dad-Sir."

"Don't be pert," Optimus shot back.

Hunter smirked.

* * *

"I still can't believe Will and Sarah are letting me keep most of the stuff they got me," Hunter marveled. "I mean even the electric piano?! What did I do to deserve this?" She finished packing the piano away and set it down at the center of the room with the small pile of boxes that had accumulated there. They'd almost finished the packing now. All there was left to do was start hauling stuff down to the Optimus' trailer that was sitting out in front of the house. They were so close!

"Is that not normal?" Optimus questioned, referring to his daughter's previous comment. He closed up his final box and brought it to sit with the pile as well.

"Not in my experience," Hunter replied. Sighing, she sat down on the bed and combed her fingers through her hair to get it out of her eyes before looking up to meet the Autobot commander's gaze. "I mean, it's not like most foster parents to do their homework on you and find out all the stuff you like to make you feel at home, much less let you keep any of it when you leave. Maybe some small stuff—a piece of jewelry, a stuffed animal, stuff like that, but not stuff like this: Not the whole shebang! Will and Sarah are like… super scary generous!" She threw her arms out as she said this and flopped back on the bed, folding her hands behind her head as she did. After a moment she cocked and eyebrow and stroked her chin. "Hmm…." A thoughtful hum rumbled up from her throat. "I wonder what the catch is."

Optimus snorted incredulously as he came over to lie down beside her, also folding his arms behind his head. "I am sure there's not catch, Hunter," he said.

The sixteen-year-old remained silent for a while until she suddenly sat up snapping her fingers. "I got it!" she exclaimed, she turned to look at her father. "They give me all this stuff in exchange for me becoming their permanent nanny!"

The Prime chuckled and shook his head as she sat up. "I'm sure they simply love you and want you to be happy, Sweet-spark," he declared, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Lovingly gazing at her, he hugged her to his side as he nuzzled his cheek against hers. "Just as I do."

Impishly smirking, Hunter pushed away and waggled a finger at the Prime. "That' just what they want us to think!" she exclaimed. Grabbing his shirt, the teen jerked him towards and gazed into his eyes with her wide ones. "Don't let them suck you into a false sense of comfort, Dad! Don't!" Her voice turned into an eerie, urgent whisper at the last.

Optimus returned her wide-eyed stare for a moment before bursting out into a loud, amused laugh. He shook his head and grinned. "Huntress Starstreaker James," he chuckled, "daughter, Hybrid, Fuser, conspiracy theorist." With that, the Autobot took Hunter's head under his arm and noogied her.

Hunter pulled away in a fit of giggles. "So I think we're ready to go," she stated after a moment. She took a look around the room. "I think that's everything."

Grunting, Optimus pushed himself up to his feet. "Well then," he sighed, "if that is the case… hup!" Without warning the holoform swopped the redhead up off the bed and flung her over his shoulder so that she was hanging upside-down with her face in his back. Hunter squealed in surprise. Securing an arm around his daughter, Optimus headed for the door and threw it open before marching out of the room and down the hall.

"Daaaad!" Hunter half-growled, half-giggled as she playfully attempted to pull away. She was having too much fun at the moment to bring this all to an end—it wasn't often she really got to joke around with her father. "Dad, let me go!"

"Hmm," Optimus hummed with a smirk. "I must say this box is certainly restless."

Hunter gently smacked his back. "Ugh! Maybe 'cuz it _**ain't a box**_!" she snapped, still tugging to try and get loose.

Right at the same moment she tugged, Optimus stepped down on the first step of the stairs and playfully swayed as if her were going to slip and fall. "Whoa!" He grabbed the banister. "I certainly hope there is nothing fragile in this box. Whoa-oh!" He dramatically flailed again as he took another step, letting Hunter slip through his grip again.

The child shrieked and clutched onto the back of his holoform jacket as the floor became suddenly closer. "No-ho! No! Don't drop me!" she squealed. "Please don't drop me." Faceplanting into the stairs was not something she wanted to experience: Even as a Hybrid it would hurt. "Nooo no no!" She screamed and giggled again when Optimus swayed once more.

Grinning, Optimus kept this up the whole length of the stairs, letting Hunter slip through his grip to the point where her face was just a few inches above the steps before readjusting and securing her to a safe height once again. Then he was on the first floor of the house and heading for the door. He nodded to Sarah as she came out of the kitchen when he went past.

"Sarah!" Hunter gasped. "Please, Sarah! You have to help me! My dad's gone bonkers—he thinks I'm a box!"

The woman only laughed. "That certainly is a large box you're carrying there, Optimus," she said to the mech with a sly grin. "Is it heavy?"

"Sarah!" Hunter shrieked incredulously.

"A bit," Optimus admitted to Sarah's previous inquiry, "but not as heavy as you would think by looking at it."

"Are you calling me "_**fat**_"?!"

Sarah chuckled. "Well, happy packing, Optimus."

"Thank you, Sarah," Optimus replied and kept heading for the front door.

"Sarah! Noooo!" Hunter's voice was cut off as the door closed behind them.

Grinning and shaking her head as she chuckled, Sarah went back into the kitchen.

"Dad?" Hunter questioned, trying to position herself so that she could see where they were going. "Dad, where are you taking me exactly?" When he didn't answer, the teen decided it was time for a different tactic. Growling she braced her hands against her father's back and pushed herself up until she'd be able to look over his head. She craned her neck around. Eyes widening she gasped in sheer disbelief. "No," she murmured, shaking her head. "No way—uh-uh. You wouldn't do that to me—your own daughter!" But the Prime kept in that direction, carrying her towards his trailer. "Dad! Dad, no, don't do it! Don't you dare do it! Don't!"

Optimus was finally in front of his trailer. Still holding a squirming Hunter in place with one hand, he opened the door of the trailer with the other. Then he flipped Hunter down from his shoulder into his arms. "All right then," he grunted. "Here we go. One…." He began swinging Hunter back and forth.

"What?!"

"Two…."

"You're _**not**_ throwing me! You're _**not**_!"

"Three!" Optimus heaved.'

"Daddy, no!" the teen exclaimed, as she was tossed inside the trailer. Getting back up on her knees she quickly tried to lunge for the door before it closed, but she wasn't fast enough. With a rattle and a bang Optimus closed the door again and locked it shut. "Dad!"

Chuckling in a self-pleased way to himself, Optimus stepped back and brushed his hands together.

"Ready to start loading up then, O.P.?"

Optimus turned at the sound of the voice to see a sweaty Will and Epps walking towards him. "As a matter of fact we are, gentlemen," he answered with a grin. "Did you finish mending the fence?"

"More like "_**fences**_"," Will replied, stripping off his leather work gloves. "Turns out the bull have started a regular fight club."

"Hey, man, I keep tellin' ya," Epps cut in, giving his bug a good-natured shove to the shoulder, "don't put 'em within sight of the cows. Only reason the suckers fight so much is 'cuz they're tryin' to impress the ladiers."

"Oh, yeah," Will snorted as he shoved his pal back. "That's the _**only **_reason they're fighting. It has absolutely nothing to do with establishing dominance and bein' plain ornery."

"Hey, you speak bull, pal?"

"No more than you do."

"I'll have you know I happen to be a bull psychologist, brother."

"Yeah, right. And I'm next in line to be ruler of England."

Epps laughed. "Will, if you became King of England we'd have to go to war with 'em all over again!" he jeered.

"Haha," Will replied sarcastically. "You're friggin' hilarious, Epps."

Suddenly a knock rang out from the trailer. All men froze and Epps and Will exchanged a look before turning to give the holoform a befuddled look. "Uh… Big 'Bot," Epps said, "sounds like you got something live in your trailer there."

Looking completely unconcerned, the Prime shrugged. "I don't know what you mean, Sergeant," he assured. "My trailer is empty—I've merely come out here to open it before we begin transferring Hunter's things." Another, more forceful, knock—actually it was more of a bang—came from withing the trailer, discrediting the Prime's words. "Excuse me a moment, gentlemen." Turning away, Optimus opened the door again to reveal a certain red-haired and blue-eyed Hybrid sitting there on the floor of the trailer, death-glaring at him. Her arms were crossed and she was drumming her fingers on her forearm. She rumbled off a growl. In return, Optimus smiled innocently and exclaimed, "Hunter! How in the name of Primus did you end up in there?"

Hunter couldn't stop her lips from curling into an amused smirk as she shook her head. And he had the nerve to call _**her**_ an "imp"! He was at least ten times as scamp she ever was when he wanted to be! All at once she lunged. "Hrah!" Grabbing her spark-father's holoform she tackled it to the ground and the two of them went rolling and laughing across the gravel.

Releasing a snort Epps rested his elbow on Will's shoulder and leaned on him, watching on as the two Cybertronians wrestled. "Okay, so tell me something," he said to his buddy. "Since when does the Prime play?"

Will only smiled and shrugged. "You're not a father yet, brother," was his simple reply. "When you become one you'll understand."

"Oof! Oh-ho! All right!" Optimus grunted when Hunter slammed him back-down into the ground. "All right, you have me. Congratulations." He gazed up at her with a challenging look. "Now what do you intend to do with me?"

A devilish glint came to Hunter's sapphire eyes. Without saying a word she began pokat at her spark-father's underarms and trying to wriggle her fingers into them. Before long she was doing the type-writer.

Releasing a squawking sound, Optimus pulled his arm tight against his holoform body to try and protect himself. With each poke and prod he flinched, little squeaks of laughter that refused to be contained escaping him. He devious little imp of a daughter! "Hunter," he grunted trying to fight the smile that was threatening to break loose on his face. "Hunter… no—ah-ha!—no… tick… ling… ah-hahaha! As quickly as he could, the Prime grabbed the Hybrid's hands and pulled them away from his stomach where they'd made a sudden and unexpected dive. Then he lifted up his legs, crossed them across her chest beneath her chin, and quickly shoved her over backwards, pinning her down to the ground. He sat up. "Ha!"

Grunting, Hunter kicked her legs up and over and rolled out of the loose pin to get back up on her feet. Once standing, she quickly leapt over backwards, planted her hands on the ground, rested her weight there for a moment, then sprung up off her arms to land in the crouch a few feet away. The teen tossed her long hair out of her face and smiled cockily. On his feet again, Optimus took a step forward and smirked back at her. He made a "come with it" motion with his hand. With that, Hunter backed up a few more steps and bent forward, pawing at the ground like a Spanish Fighting Bull complete with snorting. Then she charged. "Ahhh!" Head-butting into her father's mid-section she wrapped her arms around him and drove him backwards.

"Oof!" Optimus caught her, wrapped his arms around her, and planted his feet in the ground, trying to push her back or at least keep her from doing it to him. It didn't work all that well, considering just how strong his daughter was in comparison to him. So he went another route. Changing his grip on her, the Prime quickly flipped Hnter topsy-turvy across his body until her legs were hooked over his shoulder. "Haha!" he cheered. "I have you now!"

Hunter looked up at him with wide-eyes. "Daddy, please don't be mean," she begged. "Don't be me—no! Ah-hahahahaha!" She screamed as Optimus bowed his head and blew a raspberry into her stomach. Looking over at Will and Epps she reached out for them. "Guys!" she gasped. "Help me! Please! No-hohoho!" She tried to curl up and shove her father's face away from her middle.

Epps and Will could only laugh and shake their heads. "Sorry, Red," Epps replied. "No can do. We don't get involved in businesses not our own."

"Guys!" Hunter shrieked.

"While you're at it, better make sure she's got all her ribs, Prime," called Will. "You wouldn't want to adopt her without knowing whether she was all there or not." He winked.

Immediately catching on to the idea, Optimus smirked and winked back. "Excellent idea, Major," he commented with a nod. "It would be a shame to have a daughter who was not fully equipped."

Suddenly realizing what both man and mech were implying, Hunter's eyes widened and she stared at Will in disbelief for a moment before looking up at her devious looking spark-father. "You wouldn't dare!" she exclaimed in horror. "Don't do it, Dad!"

But, of course, Optimus did. It was just too golden a chance to miss. "Let's see now, according to your biology you should possess twenty-four ribs and I count one… two… three…." As Optimus counted he walked his index and middle fingers up Hunter's side, screwing them into each rib, causing the girl to squeal in laughter at the sensation. After rib number four Optimus quite tickling her side and dove his hand right into her middle, successfully making the child laugh even harder. "Five, six, seven, eight…" he teased Hunter with a grin.

"Da-hahahaha-ad!" Hunter tried to reach up and pull his hand away from her but when that failed she decided to try a different tactic. Reaching down she grabbed her father around the knee and jerked his leg up and out from under him.

"Whoa-oh!" Unbalanced by the sudden move, Optimus fell to the ground on his back, Hunter sprawled out beside him. Both parties laughed and sat up. Still chuckling, the Autobot commander reached out and put his hand around the back of Hunter's neck before gently drawing her forward to kiss her forehead and nuzzle her.

The sixteen-year-old smiled and nuzzled back before throwing both arms around his neck and pulling herself closer. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy.

Will smiled at the scene. Finally, for once, something was actually going right in Hunter's life, and he couldn't be happier for her. For both of them. The man suddenly heard sniffling. Cocking an eyebrow he turned to see Epps trying to subtly wipe his eyes and nose—"trying to" being the key phrase. For a long moment, Will just stared at his old army pal in complete shock. Then he spoke. "You gettin' sentimental on me, man?" he questioned.

"No!" Epps quickly dismissed the accusation, though the crack in his voice voided his denial. "No I just… it's allergies, man, allergies."

"… The only thing you're allergic to is penicillin."

"Well, I can't help it, man! I mean… it's just so heartwarming…."

"Well, try to get some kinda grip on yourself, Epps. I don't know if I can be friends with you after this sickening display."

"Aw, shut up, Will!"

* * *

The team came pulling into the yard right as Hunter, Optimus, Will, and Epps came walking out of the house with the first few boxes. Letting the kids out, the turned on their holoforms and joined the party. "Ready to start loading then?" Arcee question.

"Yup," Hunter answered as she walked past towards the trailer.

"Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, there are three more boxes up in the room," Optimus informed them as he followed after his daughter. "If you three bring those out, we will be finished."

"You got it, Optimus," Bulkhead responded with a nod. All three headed towards the house and began to disappear inside.

It was then that Annabelle suddenly came streaking out, swerving around the oncoming 'bots as she came through the door.

"Annabelle!" Sarah's voice called out of the house. "You better have finished cleaning your room like I asked you to!"

"I did, Mommy!" Annabelle shouted back, stopping to turn around as she did. Then she turned back and kept running, carrying something in her hands. "Hunter!" she called. "Hunter!"

Turning around, Hunter smiled and jumped out of the trailer. "What's up, kiddo?" she questioned, going to the girl.

"I think you forgot to pack something," Annabelle replied. She held out what was in her hands, and what was in her hands was a shoe box, covered in sparkles, stickers, and bits of colored, taped on paper. Across the top in big, blue sparkle letters was the name 'Hunter'.

Hunter laughed, taking the box from the little girl. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot about this." She looked at Annabelle. "Where'd you find it?"

"Under the bed in your old room," Annabelle answered, folding her hands behind her back.

"Well, thank you," Hunter chuckled, ruffling the child's golden locks. "I'm glad you found it so that I didn't leave it behind."

"Didn't leave what behind?" Optimus questioned, coming over to the girls. He wrapped an arm around Hunter's shoulders and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"My treasure box," Hunter answered, grinning up at him. "Annabelle found it."

"Treasure box?" Optimus asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Hunter replied, holding it out so he could see it. "Basically just a shoe box with everything that's actually mine in it."

"Can I see what's in it, Hunter?" Annabelle questioned, excitedly as she bounced up and down a bit.

Hunter chuckled. "Sure, 'Belle. Been a while since I've taken a peek inside anyway." With that she tucked the box under one arm, took Annabelle's hand, and led the little girl back into the yard and up onto the porch. Optimus and the other kids followed them. Sitting down on the step, Hunter put the box on her lap and gently pulled off the lid. The contents of the box consisted of mostly polaroid pictures but there were some pieces of jewelry—mostly the kind you got out of a gumball machine—a few miscellaneous toys—including a slinky—and a small, paper-back chapter book. The sixteen-year-old couldn't help but snort. "Wow," she marveled under her breath. "It really has been a while since I've opened this thing up. I forgot about most of the stuff in here."

Kneeling down in front of them, Miko reached into the box and pulled out a googly eyeball keychain. "Whose is it?" she questioned with a smirk, shaking the thing so the eyeball inside the globe wobbled.

Hunter gave her friend a look. "Hahaha," she laughed sardonically.

"Ooh!" Annabelle's hand suddenly dove into the box and she pulled out a purple plastic diamond ring. She slipped it on her finger and turned the diamond. It lit up with a pink light. "Pretty!" the child marveled, completely taken with the thing.

"I can't believe that still works," Hunter stated in some amazement as she stared at the ring.

Raf reached into the box and pulled out the book. "Junie B. Jones," he read the title, "is a Graduation Girl."

"At one of the schools I went to they had Third Grade graduation," Hunter explained as her young friend leafed through the book. "All the kids got that for their present. Ya know, I don't think I've ever actually read it."

"Mind if I borrow it?" Raf questioned. "My little sister loves this series."

Hunter shrugged. "Sure," she answered. "She can keep it if she wants—I'm never gonna read it."

"You really have a lot of photos in here," Jack commented, carefully picking up a handful out of the box. He looked through them.

"I got this old polaroid camera from these people fostering me," Hunter explained. "I decided I wanted to be a photographer and started "training" for it. I think I went a little overboard."

"What happened to the camera?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I fried it with all the pictures I took," Hunter admitted. "Most of 'em aren't that good—just a lot of crap I saw and thought could be "artistic". Maybe the camera was telling me to stop by breaking."

Optimus, who was watching over Jack's shoulder as the young man flipped through the pictures, suddenly caught a glimpse of a photo with people in it. Reaching over Jack, he plucked it out of the array and examined it. After a moment her arched and eyebrow. "And, who may I ask, is this?" he questioned, holding out the picture for Hunter to see. The tone in his voice was not a very happy one and everyone soon found out why. There were two people in the picture: young kids—maybe thirteen or fourteen—sitting on the steps of a brick building. One of the kids was obviously Hunter—the hair was a dead giveaway. The other kid was a blonde-haired boy. But the most intriguing thing about the picture was the fact that the two of them appeared to be kissing.

Hunter couldn't help but laugh in amusement as she snagged the picture away. "Oh my—wow—I completely forgot about this picture," she declared, grinning. She laughed again.

"Really?" Optimus responded, with a humorless chuckle. "Who is it?"

"I'm guessing you didn't take this picture," Jack remarked with a sly smirk.

Hunter shook her head, not looking up from the picture. "Nope—my friend Bobbi did."

"Who is it?" Optimus repeated. It didn't matter how long ago it had happened, his daughter was being kissed by a boy in a picture and he wanted to know who it was!

"Wow, this seems like a long time ago," Hunter murmured more to herself than anyone else.

"Who. Is. It?" Optimus enunciated his burning question very, very slowly.

Smirking, Hunter looked up from the picture and gave her father a look. "Relax, Dad," she assured him. "His name was Mark—he was just a friend, nothing more."

"Then why is he kissing you?" Optimus demanded.

"Because I asked him to," came the simple answer.

"Whadya mean you asked him to?" Miko questioned.

"Well, it was my thirteenth birthday," Hunter explained, "and him, Bobbi, and I were hanging out and he felt bad that he hadn't gotten me a birthday present. I told him to not worry about it, but he wouldn't let it go. So he asks me what I would want if he could get me anything, right? So I say a family. Of course he can't give me that so he says, "What's the next thing you'd want?" So I tell him my first kiss and he asks me if I want him to kiss me and I say "sure". So he does and Bobbi snaps the pic."

"How was it?" Raf asked.

Hunter couldn't help but blush a bit as she reminisced about the moment. "It was… nice," she confessed. Hearing Optimus clear his throat, the teen peeked up at him out of the corner of her eye to see him standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring down at her. "Real nice, actually," she continued with a smirk, deciding to play this up a bit. What fun would this be if she didn't get to get her father's goat a little bit? "In fact it wasn't so much as kiss as it was more a full blown make out session.

"Hunter…" Optimus warned, raising an eyebrow. He knew she was joking… at least he was pretty sure she was joking—but still. Jokes were one thing. Jokes involving his daughter and a boy were a separate and unwelcome issue entirely.

Hunter giggled and looked up at him, leaning back on her hands as she did. "I'm teasing, Dad," she reassured him. "It's was just an innocent thing—barely a peck."

"That doesn't matter," Optimus insisted firmly, shaking his head. "A kiss is a kiss and I do not care how long ago it was—I don't want to hear about strange boys I do not know kissing you. You are my daughter and I do not want you kissing anybody until…"  
"You've joined the AllSpark?" Hunter finished for him, raising an eyebrow as she smirked.

"Precisely."

"Wow," Miko snorted, tapping Jack in the ribs with her elbow, "talk about your "Overprotective Daddy Syndrome"." Hearing a slight growl, the Japanese girl looked up to see that Optimus' glare was now directed on her. Eyes widening, she cowered away a bit.

Hunter chuckled. "Relax, Big Guy," she sighed. "I'm the Fuser, I've got people chasing and wanting to hurt me, I'm battling Decepticons, I'm training—guys are definitely last on my list right now. Besides, no matter what, you are always gonna be the first guy in my life, Daddy."

Optimus couldn't help the small smile that curled up a corner of his mouth. "I realize," he murmured, "that you are trying to "butter me up" as you Earthlings say… but I do know that there is truth behind that statement." Hunter nodded and he sighed. "Well… I suppose I can take that as consolation for the time being."

Hunter smiled and turned back to her box, continuing to sort through the items. Once she'd dug through the polaroids she was met with a VHS tape. The girl sighed and brought it out of the box. "This thing…" she groaned, holding between her fingers as she just sat there staring at it.

"A video tape?" Jack questioned.

"Wow!" Miko exclaimed. "Retro!"

"What's on it?" Raf asked.

"I have no idea," Hunter answered.

"You never watched it?" Optimus asked.

Hunter shook her head. "The ladies at the orphanage never let me," she explained. "They said that I wasn't supposed to see it till I was older for whatever reason—I couldn't tell you why. They kept it away from me until I turned ten then they gave it to me to do with whatever I wanted. I never got a chance to watch it so I just stuffed it in the bottom of my box and forgot about it, I guess. I don't even know who or where it came from." Sighing, she began to turn the object over and over between her fingers when suddenly the thing rattled, causing Hunter to freeze. She stared at the tape in confusion. "What in…" Hunter slid the cassette out of the box and turned it over to find two rings and what looked like a chainless locket in the empty takeup reel. "Whoa…."

"So it doubles as a jewelry box, huh?" Miko remarked.

"Except you can't get the stuff out," Hunter countered. "No wonder I was never supposed to see this—you wouldn't be able to play it anyway."

Raf reached out, took the tape out of Hunter's hands, and held for a minute as he studied it. "I can get it open if you want," he offered after a moment.

"Okay," Raf murmured as he carefully worked the screwdriver. "I got it." Setting the tool down, the thirteen-year-old gently took the top of the cassette off and then removed the empty reel to dump out the contents into his palm. He offered them to Hunter. "There ya go."

"Thanks, Raf." With the trinkets now in her grasp, Hunter set about examining them, trying to figure out where they'd come from and who they'd belonged to: She might be able to figure out where the cassette was from then. She looked over the rings first. They were fairly simple, both gold in color, though one did possess three small diamonds in it to make it appear a bit more feminine. Inscribed on the inside of both rings was a date: May 5th, '94. There also words: on the inside of the plain gold band was the word 'Hers' and on the inside of the ring with the diamonds was 'His'. "They look like wedding rings," the redhead finally announced.

"But whose?" Jack asked the big question.

"And what were they doing in your video?" Miko added on.

Setting the rings off to the side Hunter turned to the locket. It was a pretty little thing: golden, oval-shaped, a diamond set right in the center of the face—it looked fairly expensive. Then the teen flipped it over. She froze, her spark leaping into her throat and tears immediately pricking at her eyes, and for a long moment she didn't say anything and simply kept staring at the words engraved on the back.

Sensing the swell of mixed emotions through their bond, Optimus stepped closer to his spark-daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hunter?" he questioned softly.

"It has my name on it." Hunter's voice was hardly above a crackling whisper. "This locket has my name on it."

With that Optimus leaned down until his head was level with Hunters and gazed at the back of the locket, reading the phrase carefully engraved in small, elegant print:

_To our_

_Precious _

_Huntress—_

_Our love for_

_You is eternal._

"It's from my parents," Hunter finally concluded, a few tears trickling down her cheeks as she reread the script over and over again. "It's all from my parents!" Finally managing to pull her eyes away from the locket, the girl's eyes went to the tape that Raf had yet to put back together. "That means the tape must be from them, too. Or at least _**of**_ them." She looked back at the locket and carefully opened it to find a smiling image of Comet Thunder on one side and one of Quinn on the other. The pictures suddenly swam before her eyes. Pressing a hand tightly to her mouth, Hunter tried swallowing the suddenly large lump in her throat. "Oh my god…" she quivered, voice muffled through her hand. "Oh my g…." The teen's voice cut off with a soft, trembling sob and she screwed her eyes tightly shut and bowed her head.

"Uh… Hunt?" Jack came forward and put a hand on her arm. He looked at her in concern, having not seen the girl in this sort of state for a while.

Hunter shook her head. "No, I'm… I'm fine," she assured them all after a moment. "I just… I haven't really seen my father's face in a long time and… and this is…" she clamped her hand over her mouth again for a bit. "This is first time… I've ever seen my mother."

"You've never seen your mommy before?" Annabelle questioned in borderline horror.

Not looking up from the pictures Hunter shook her head. "I never had any pictures," she explained. "Well… I guess I've had at least one all along… I just never knew about it. And now…. I guess I just never figured… how much of a shock it'd be if… if…." She dropped off against, sniffling pathetically. She wasn't quite sure what she was feeling: amazement, happiness, sadness? Maybe all at once? All she knew is that she was having the hardest time gaining control of herself, which very well added embarrassment to the list of storm of emotion brewing inside her. "I'm sorry," she squeaked, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Shh," Optimus gently hushed her. He brushed her hair behind her ear and placed a kiss on her temple before pressing his forehead to her head. "Shh, I need not apologize. It's all right." He wrapped his arms around her as Hunter suddenly leaned into him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "It's all right." He comforted her for a few minutes before the sixteen-year-old finally found the strength to pull herself back together.

Sitting back up and sniffling, Hunter wiped her eyes and pushed back from the table to stand, locket still clutched tightly in hand. "Raf," she said, turning to her friend, "you mind putting the tape back together?"

"Yeah, sure," Raf said. "Why?"

"I think I'm old enough to watch it now," she answered. With that, the redhead turned away and left the room, going to find Sarah. They'd need that old VCR of the Lennoxes'.

* * *

Will connected the last few cords of the VCR and stepped back, brushing his hands together. "All right," he sighed. "Everything's hooked up and ready to go. I hope it still works."

Hunter nodded and slightly smiled as she came forward, holding the tape close. "Thanks, Will," she said. Kneeling down she got ready to slide the tape into the machine when she paused and turned to look back at everyone else. "You guys don't have to watch if you don't want to," she told them, not wanting them to feel obligated to sit and watch it with her. After all, it was probably just a home video with her parents—probably their wedding—if there was anything on it all. Hopefully it wasn't blank. If it was it had been pretty stupid to leave it for her in the first place, even if it's purpose had been to protect the rings and locket. Not to mention cruel.

"You kidding?" Miko asked, giving her a "seriously?" look. "Why would be wanna miss this?!"

"We're definitely curious, Hunter," Arcee replied with a smirk.

"Yeah," Bulk agreed with a nod. "We wanna know where you come from."

"And why you are the way you are," Epps added.

Hunter gave the man a glare. "Okay, you, Epps, out!" She jutted her thumb towards the door.

"Aww, come on, Red," the man laughed. "I'm just teasin' ya—you know that. You're a wonderful girl and we're lucky to have you."

Hunter rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile at the same time. She turned back to the VCR and slid the tape in.

"Of course your temper could use some improvement," Epps muttered.

"I heard that," Hunter warned. With the tape loaded, the sixteen-year-old pressed play and retreated back across the room to sit next to Optimus at the center of the couch. "Here we go then," she sighed, her stomach twisting and untwisting as she nervously rubbed her palms together. "Movie time." Everyone became silent and watched on.

At first there was nothing but a blank screen, then for a moment there was static before finally a picture of a red-haired, obviously pregnant woman with a bowl her hand flashed up on the screen. The date in the corner read July 15th 1995. "Comet!" she screeched indignantly even as she smiled. "Stop it! Put that thing away—I'm a mess!"

"Whoa!" Will exclaimed. "Hot accent!"

Sarah, who was sitting on the arm of the lounger her was in, tossed her blonde locks and looked down at him with a glare. "Ahem…?"

The man blinked up at his wife and smiled sheepishly. "Is what I would say if I actually liked British accents," he added on. Unconvincingly, one might add.

"Mm-hm," Sarah replied with a roll of her eyes. She turned back to the TV.

"Well, that certainly explains Hunter being a Beatles fan," Raf remarked.

"Knowing this I can now forgive that sin," Miko added with a nod.

"Aww, come on, Brit," Comet's voice came from behind the camera, "you look beautiful."

Quinn snorted as she turned away and walked towards a couch. "Beautiful, right. I'm in my baggy sweats and sloppy shirt, I haven't done a thing with my hair, I have no makeup on, and I'm pregnant and fat. Yes. I am runway ready." With a sigh, the woman carefully lowered herself to sit on the couch before picking her legs up an slowly pivoting to lean up against a pile of cushions near one of the arms. Slouching a bit, she set her bowl on her round belly and began shoveling whatever was in it into her mouth.

The camera began moving as Comet started walking closer. "Mmm, what are we eating now?" the man questioned, coming to stand over his wife. He aimed the camera down at the bowl. "Let's see. Chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce, peanuts, strawberries, whipped cream and… ranch, mayo, and pickles?"

The room of viewers gave off a collective groan and grimaced.

"Yuck!" Annabelle voiced the extra opinion for everyone.

"How can you eat that?" Comet asked his wife, focusing in on her face.

"Mmm, it's delicious," Quinn moaned by way of answer.

"Blech!"

Quinn suddenly looked up at the camera and pointed a spoonful full of the fowl concoction at the camera. "No uterus, no opinion."

"Right on!" all females in the room—even Arcee—cheered.

"After all, it's your fault I'm in this situation anyway," Quinn accused good-naturedly as she turned back to her food… if you could call it that.

"Oh, so now it's my fault you're eating a bio-hazard?" Comet questioned.

Quinn looked up again as she cleaned off her spoon. "Of course it is," she stated with a smirk. "I didn't do this to myself. You're the one who…"

"Okay, let's keep this family friendly," Comet suddenly interrupted her with a chuckle. "We don't need to scar the baby when she finally gets to watch this someday."

"That's the smartest idea you've had since before you got me pregnant," Quinn chided in a charmingly snide way.

"If I wasn't convinced Hunter and this woman are related before, I definitely am now," Jack declared with a smirk.

Hunter was too entranced by the video to comment back. She couldn't believe it. This was her mother. She was watching a video of her mother; hearing her voice for the very first time! It was probably the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard. Feeling a pad of a thumb caressing her cheek, the teen slightly jumped and pulled her eyes away from the TV just long enough to see Optimus gazing at her sympathetically. She suddenly realized she was crying again. The girl quickly wiped her eyes and cheeks. "I'm all right," she assured her father. "I'm all right, it's just… overwhelming."

Smiling slightly, Optimus nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close and kissed her head before they both turned their attention back to the TV.

"Speaking of the baby," Comet moved on the conversation, "how many months are we now?"

Quinn's smile suddenly beamed with both love and excitement. She looked down at her round belly and lovingly rubbed it. "A little over five months," she answered with a certain coo in her voice. The woman looked back up at the camera. "She's already started kicking."

"That's my girl!" Comet praised. "Already a fighter! A daddy couldn't be more proud of that." His large hand came into the frame and gently caressed his wife's belly. "Just think," the man marveled, "in about four more months we're gonna be parents."

"At least… until we have to give her up," Quinn murmured sadly. The look of utter elation on her face had quickly faded into one of despair and pain. Tears were already shining in her eyes. "Comet…" she whimpered after a moment, "… I… I don't… _**why**_?" The woman raised her head to look at her husband as tears began to run down her cheeks. "Why? Why our baby? I just don't understand why! Why?!" She covered her face in her hands and began crying.

Comet's hand picked up the bowl and moved it out of the shot before he set the camera down on a table and moved to comfort his wife. You could just see their legs on the screen now. "Shh, love, shh," Comet could be heard trying to console her. "It's okay—it's all gonna be okay."

"But it's not going to be okay, Comet," Quinn stated, "and you know it. Our baby is…. She isn't normal, Comet, and she's never going to be. And she's not ours—not really. We're going to have to give her away to someone we don't even know!"

"Shh, I know, Quinn, I know," Comet soothed. "But we don't even know when that'll be yet. It could be right after she's born, or it could be a while after that—we might end up having her for years before that time comes."

"It doesn't matter. That day will come and when it does… oh, Comet, why does it have to be this way?!"

"I dunno, Brit. I just don't know. All I know is that Primus chose us for a reason. Our baby is going to be important and powerful and she is going to be needed by so many out there—not just on Earth but throughout the universe. And I know how much it's going to hurt to let her go…. But who are we to selfishly keep her to ourselves when so many are going to need and depend on her?"

There was quiet for a moment before Quinn finally broke it. "I know you're right, love," she sniffled, voice a bit muffled. "But I still don't like it. I still don't want to give up our baby—our precious little baby…" the woman's voice broke off as she started crying again.

With that the video once again turned to static. The entire room was silent and all eyes were trained on Hunter, waiting for her reaction. What was she thinking? What was she going to say? Was she going to say anything?

Not totally aware she was being watched and yet not completely unaware of it either, Hunter sat with her head in her hands. Pushing her hair up out of her face she stared at the floor. For a long time she was quiet, comprehending what she had just seen and heard on the video. "I can't believe it," she finally whispered after a moment.

"Sweet-spark?" Optimus questioned, rubbing her shoulders.

"My entire life I've thought about how much giving me up affected me alone… I never thought about how my parents felt about it." Sighing the teen buried her face in her hands. She needed to be alone in the darkness for a minute.

"I'm still shocked your parents knew what you were before you were even born," Arcee declared.

"That surprised me too," Hunter admitted behind her hands. "But I guess it makes sense. Primus probably gave them dreams or something or Greasy might've figured it out and told them who knows."

"Hey, baby girl."

Hunter's face immediately lifted out of her hands and all eyes turned towards the television again to see that the static was gone and Comet Thunder and replaced it. He was sitting in a chair and looked very tired and drained, both physically and emotionally. The date on the screen this time read August 20th 1998. All eyes quickly turned to Hunter again to see her staring intently at the TV, more tears welling up in her eyes.

Suddenly feeling like it was just her and the video, Hunter released a quivering breath. "Daddy?" she just barely squeaked.

On the video Comet released a slightly awkward chuckle and looked away from the camera as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I…" he started, shrugging, "… I don't even know how to begin this to tell you the truth. There's so many things I want to say and so many things that need to be said at the same time." The man rubbed his hands over his face for a moment as he groaned, then he looked into the camera again. To Hunter it felt like he was looking into her eyes. "Tomorrow… everything changes, baby," Comet began to explain. "The life we both know is never going to be the same again. I know that you're going to have a lot of questions—questions that you won't know how to find the answers to. Even now as you're hopefully watching this however many years later, you're probably still asking those questions. I'm… gonna try my best to answer them for you right now.

"First of all, I want you to know that I will always love you, Hunter. That is the one thing that will never change. From the first moment I found out you mom was pregnant with you I've loved you." An endearing smile crossed Comet's face as a few tears shone in his eyes. "And when you were born and I held you in my arms for the very first time and looked at your precious, innocent little face… your fingers wrapped around mine so tight, like you never wanted to let go… I knew I could never love anything as much as I loved you in that moment and the many other moments to follow. Never forget that, sweet-spark, never forget that."

Hunter shook her head, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks. "Never," she whispered. "Never, I promise."

"You're probably wondering if what's happening to you is your fault," Comet went on. "It does have everything to do with you, baby, but it's not your fault. None of this is your fault, Hunter. By the time you're watching this you've probably already discovered what and who you are, so you know just how powerful you are. Because of this there are people in the world—bad people—who will want to hurt you and use you for their own personal gain and agendas. And I won't be able to protect you from that. I've tried, Hunter. Believe me, I've tried with everything I have to keep you safe from these people but the truth is… I'm not strong enough, sweet-spark. More than anything I wish I was but I'm not. That's why I have to send you away, baby girl. You're too important and valuable for me to risk your protection, and I just don't have the money to keep moving us around in order to keep you hidden. I don't wanna see you turned into a puppet, Hunter. I don't want that life for you—that's not who you are. You are the Fuser, my child. You are strong, you are powerful, you are important, you are needed and wanted. For your sake I hope you never have to meet the people who want you for the wrong reasons.

Hunter couldn't help the rueful chuckle that escaped her. "Too late for that, Dad."

The video message went on. "I have to give you your best chance, Hunter," Comet was saying. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but what I'm doing is giving that to you. As much as it hurts me, you're best chance is not with me; it's with someone else who will love you just as much as I do." The tears were streaming down his face now. "The truth is…" he sniffled after a moment of silence, "… Primus, help me—the truth is, you're not mine, Hunter. You never were mine, nor your mother's, rest her soul. I know that might sound confusing depending on when you're watching this, so let me try to explain. You are my baby, sweet-spark. You have always been my baby and always will be my baby, nothing will ever change that. But… you're not mine to raise, Hunter. That privilege goes to someone else: a Prime. I don't know his name yet, but I do know that you belong with him and not me—as much as that hurts me. Your spark… is his, and… that's something I couldn't claim even if I had to."

Optimus drew into himself upon hearing this, thinking it all over. He'd only ever thought about how blessed and lucky he had been to have Hunter as his spark-daughter, but not once had he ever thought about how hard it had been on Comet Thunder to give the girl to him. Or how spark-breaking. The Prime didn't think he'd have enough strength to do the same. He looked over at the young Hybrid whose eyes were still glued to the television, watching intently even as she cried. He thought about how much he loved—what a huge part of his life she was. He couldn't imagine life without her.

"Don't feel bad for me, sweet-spark," Comet was going on to say. "That's the last thing I want you to feel. It hurts and breaks me to have to give you up in more ways than I can say, but I don't want you to feel sorry. I want you to feel happy. I want you to feel as happy and content and loved and wanted as you possibly can, because that's exactly what you deserve, Hunter. You deserve the very best life has to offer you… even if it's not with me. And there is no doubt in my mind that you'll find it." He smiled lovingly into the camera as he said this.

Hunter couldn't help but smile back as she nodded. "I have, Dad," she murmured with a sniffle. "Trust me, I have." She looked up at Optimus who in turn smiled down at her and wrapped her arms around him as she snuggled into his side. Optimus chuckled and returned her embrace, placing a kiss on her head as he nuzzled into her hair.

"Now, Prime," the video grabbed Optimus' attention again, as well as Hunter's and everyone else's, "if you're watching this, I've got a message for you too." Comet was looking seriously into the camera now. "Watch over our baby girl, all right? I know it's probably a redundant thing to say, but I mean it. I realize that you love her as much as I do and would do whatever it takes to protect her, but remember that no matter where in the world I am she's the love of my life too. I've held on to her for three years only to have to send her away from me, and that's not something a father does if he doesn't truly believe that who he's sending is child to will love and care for them as much as he does. Consider this a gesture of good faith. Also remember that you're a Purebred and I'm a Hybrid, and even though I'm not quite as powerful compared to some other members of my species—my own daughter included—I am still more powerful than you. So if you do anything to hurt her and I find out about it I will hunt you down and make your life miserable." There was a teasing tone in the man's voice, but you could tell that he meant every word he said.

The viewers all laughed at the threat, Optimus included. However, the Prime had no doubts that, even if Comet Thunder was one with the AllSpark now, if something ever did befall Hunter that was his fault the mech would probably come back to make him pay. And he didn't blame him. He would do the same thing too.

"And brushing on the subject of boys, because I know that you're most likely going to go through that phase with her," Comet went on, "well, I think you know what my advice is…."

"Show them the guns," Optimus quoted along with the man, only to raise another fit of even harder laughter out of everyone else.

Hunter rolled her eyes and groaned. "Even though you guys've never even met you've conspired a plan against me!" she complained good-naturedly. "How am I supposed to have a life? I'm screwed."

"I've answered all these questions for you, baby girl," Comet continued on. "Hopefully I've given you some peace of mind through this, but I have one last thing to give you: a warning. I'm sure you're wondering "Why now?" We've been together for three years, so what's changed—what's pushed me over the edge now?" He sighed. "It's not the easiest thing in the world to explain, Hunter, and I can't really give you an explanation of why it is the way it is, because in all honesty I can't figure it out myself, but the reason…"

"Daddy?" a small, tired voice suddenly interrupted Comet.

The man looked up off screen towards the sound. "Hunter?" he questioned. "Baby, what are you doin' up at this hour? You should be in bed."

A small little girl with shoulder-length, fiery, disheveled locks suddenly came into the frame. She was wearing a Toy Story onesie and carrying a stuffed wolf: Blue. Everyone watching awed, causing Hunter to blush. Yawning and rubbing her eyes, Hunter toddled up to her father and stated in the most adorable, groggy little voice, "I was t'irsty, so I gotted up to get a dwink. What are you doing, Daddy?" She started to clamber up into her father's lap.

Chuckling, Comet helped her up and cradled her there, wrapping his arms around her as he began to rock. "I'm just making a movie, baby girl," he answered, looking first to the camera then down the little girl.

Little Hunter was quiet for a minute as she stroked Blue's fur. "Wike an Amewica's Funny Vid'o?" she finally spoke

Comet laughed softly. "Somethin' like that," he nodded, stroking her hair back out of her face.

"Can I watch?"

A heavy sigh. "Someday, baby, someday." There was a long period of silence as Comet sat there with his daughter, rocking her and holding her close. He was biting his lip and you could see the tears coming back into his sapphire-blue eyes as he gazed down at her. It was plain to see how much he loved her—how much this was killing him. It was has heart-wrenching as it was sweet. "Hey, uh," the man finally said, clearing his throat and sniffing, "why don't we get you back to bed, huh? We got a big day tomorrow."

"What's…" little Hunter began to ask, before breaking off in an adorable yawn. Her eyes had already started to drift shut again as her head nodded into her father's chest. "What's… tomowwow…." Right then and there she fell asleep for the very last time in her father's arms.

Comet released a quivering chuckle before picking his child up and standing. For a minute he continued to stand there and simply gaze at her before kissing her forehead and nuzzling his cheek against her hair. "I love you, Huntress Starstreaker James," you could just barely hear him whisper. With that the man moved towards the camera and shut it off. The screen went blurry with static for a minute before it finally went black and the tape snapped to a stop in the VCR.

Everyone remained still and silent. Tears had found their ways into more than one pair of eyes. That had been brutal. Slowly all eyes turned to Hunter. The sixteen-year-old was still sitting there staring at the TV in what looked to be either horror or shock, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. His last words. Those were the very last words her father had ever said to her. "That was the last time I ever saw him," Hunter finally spoke, voice hardly above a whisper. "I woke up in the orphanage the next day—he never even woke me to say goodbye."

"He didn't want to make it any more difficult than it already was, Sweet-spark," Optimus assured her, somehow knowing exactly what Comet Thunder's mindset had been. "It was already hard enough for him, and he did not want to hurt you as well."

"But it did hurt me," Hunter admitted, looking down at the floor. "It hurt me so much—I thought he didn't love me anymore."

"But he did," Optimus insisted, putting an arm around her shoulders. "He did love you—you knew that before watching this tape. He never stopped loving you—he still loves you."

"Then why didn't he say goodbye?" There wasn't much conviction in Hunter's demand. "Or at least, why didn't he say goodbye when it happened?"

"Perhaps he thought it would be easier," her spark-father answered.

Hunter shook her head. "It wasn't."

"No, it wasn't," Optimus agreed. "And he made a mistake in thinking it would be, but that does not mean that he didn't love you or that he meant to hurt you."

Hunter was silent, thinking this over, before she finally made a wordless nod. Optimus was right. Comet's actions may have been misguided, but he had never at any point not had her best interests at spark.

Another uncomfortably heavy silence fell over the room before Sarah finally cleared her throat and stood up. "Well," she sighed with a grin, "seeing's as how we're all finished with the packing a loading how about some cookies and milk?"

"Yeah!" Annabelle, Raf, Jack, Miko, Epps, and Will all exclaimed at the same time.

Chuckling, Sarah left the room.

Wiping her eyes and sniffled, Hunter stood with a sigh and grabbed the box for the tape before going across the room to take it out. She was just slipping it into the box when there was a knock at the door.

"I got it," Bulkhead offered, since he was the one closest to the door. He disappeared into the hall.

Hunter came back over and sat the tape down on the coffee table before meeting her spark-father's sky-blue holoform eyes. She smiled meekly. "Is it weird to say I think I'm even more ready to begin this new life now than I was before?" she questioned sheepishly.

Optimus chuckled, and stood to put his hands on her shoulders. "If it is, then I am "weird" as well," he confessed. "Because I feel the same way." He returned his child's smile and tried to brush her cowlick out of her face, only have it stubbornly swing back into place.

"Um… guys," Bulkhead's voice drew everyone's attention. He was standing the hall with another man who was well dressed and carrying a briefcase looking quite bewildered. "This is Trent Jacobs. He says he's with Child and Family Services."

At that a deathly chill slammed into Hunter, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms and the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Her stomach knotted. No! No, no, no, please no! This couldn't be happening again! She was going to be taken away again!

Sensing her terror through their bond, Optimus smiled reassuringly at his daughter and tried to send a comforting feeling to her. He came forward with an amicable smile. "Hello, Mr. Jacobs," he greeted the man, shaking his hand. "What brings you this way? I assume it has to do with Hunter?"

"It does," Mr. Jacobs answered in a clipped, but not unfriendly tone. "I've come to discuss her adoption."

Optimus was taken aback. "Adoption?" he questioned, looking utterly confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand. I was under the impression that everything was taken care of for the adoption and we only had to come in and sign the papers."

"We?" Jacobs questioned, raising an eyebrow. His brown eyes were just as confused as the Primes.

"Yes," Optimus answered. "Hunter and I. You are here to discuss my adoption of her, aren't you?"

Jacobs was quiet for a moment looking completely bewildered by the statement. He couldn't have looked more confused if Prime had slipped up and started speaking to him in Cybertronian rather than English. "Um… I'm sorry, but no. I'm not here to discuss you're adoption."

Hunter only grew colder.

"Then… what adoption are you here to discuss?" Optimus all but demanded.

"I am here to discuss the adoption of Hunter James by Mr. Cyrus and Eve Prescott of Denver Colorado."

* * *

**Confession #37:**

** This is the point at which I start to hate myself….**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	14. It All Comes Crumbling Down

**I tried to make this chapter and the next chapter all one thing, but there's gonna be so much heartbreak in these things I decided to give you guys some of it now, give you a respite, and then finish the job. Besides, I can barely see my computer screen anymore I'm crying so hard! The next chapter's gonna be a glitch! WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?! *sobs uncontrollably***

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Evgeny Emelyanov; _Sorrow_

14

Ω Et Omnes Labenti Ω

(It All Come Crumbling Down)

Hunter couldn't breathe. She wasn't even sure if she was alive; her spark had just completely shattered—she was sure of it. This wasn't real. It couldn't be happening—this just couldn't be real! This was a dream. It had to be—it just had to be! There was no way this was happening again: nobody in life could have luck this fragged up! She was dreaming again. Any minute now she'd wake up back in her berth with Optimus' arms around her and his soothing, deep-as-space voice in her audioreceptor telling her that everything was all right and she was safe. That's what would happen. Any minute now. It had to!

But it didn't. Hunter never woke up. She remained standing there frozen in utter horror, starting at this man who had just dropped the biggest bomb ever imagined on them all. And slowly, as her senses returned, it dawned on her. There would be no waking up: no warm and comforting arms and voice to console her: no reassurance that everything was going to be all right. This… this was no dream. This was reality. And she was stuck her for all eternity. The only thing that was a dream were her hopes and beliefs for her happy ending—her adoption—to finally come true. _**That**_ was the dream—the absolutely beautiful, amazing, perfect dream. And it was crumbling to dust. Just like it had countless times before, only this time it hurt so much worse. The pain was absolutely paralyzing.

As for Optimus himself, it was all he could do to keep his holoform intact he was so shocked. (In fact, he may have actually flickered, though Jacobs didn't seem to notice. It just slammed into him like a freight train. He didn't understand. This man was here to talk about an adoption for Hunter in place but… it wasn't _**his **_adoption of her? That made no sense! How could someone—some strangers from out of nowhere-just swoop in and throw a monkey wrench (as the human expression went) right into the middle of the plan? Fowler had assured him everything was ready to go; that nothing would get in the way. So what in Pit was this?! The Prime just could not understand it. "Uh…" Optimus stuttered, trying to think of what to say. Wow. Quiet of a mech as he typically was, this was rarely ever an issue for him. The Prime always knew what to say, when to say it, how to say it. It was a natural gift. And now it was failing him. Miserably.

Optimus cleared his throat as he tried to pull his thoughts together. "I am… I'm sorry," he finally managed to spit out the dazed confession, "but I am afraid I do not understand what is happening here."

"I think that goes for all of us," Epps declared.

"Yeah," Bulk agreed. "Who are these Prescotts anyway?" The ex-Wrecker was getting demanding now, stalking towards Jacobs and backing him into a corner. "And just what do they want with Hunt?"

Eyes wide with fear, the social worker backed away from the ticked, intimidating mountain of a man until his back came into contact with a wall. Instinctively he held his briefcase up as a shield. However, if this man decided to hit him, Jacobs had a hard time believing the briefcase would actually provide some form of adequate protection. "Um… well… I-I-I…."

"Easy, Bulk." Arcee came in between the two men and gently tried to pull her hulking friend back. "Let's let the poor guy talk before we go eating him alive." However, as she said this, the disguised two-wheeler show a deathly cold glare the worker's way. She couldn't help but feel rewarded when he tremored.

"That is an excellent idea, Arcee," Optimus agreed, crossing his arms tightly over his chest as he gave Jacobs a harsh scowl. He was forcing himself to be calm and rational. More than anything the Prime wanted to beat this man to a bloody pulp for coming in here and saying that he wouldn't be adopting his spark-daughter. Cybertronians—as you all may very well know—are extremely protective of their loved ones: their children in particular. To be between a creator and their creation is a dangerous place to be. And when that creator is a Prime it is even more deadly. Unfortunately for Trent Jacobs, he was in that space right now, and the only thing restraining Optimus was the bow he had taken to not harm humans. Even that was starting to become less and less of a barrier.

Growling one last time at the social worker, Bulkhead backed off. He walked back to stand behind the couch with Bumblebee and Arcee once again.

Jacobs heaved a sigh of relief and slumped into the wall. Then he quickly straightened himself up and, trying to look authoritative again, stepped into the room. "Perhaps we should all take a seat?" he suggested, motion around the room. Everyone took the suggestion and sat back down, including Sarah and the kids, who had returned from the kitchen. Being gently guided back by her spark-father, Hunter sank back down to sit on the couch cushions, her eyes still wide and glued to the floor. Nodding appreciatively, Jacobs cleared his throat. "As I have said," he began, "I am here to discuss Hunter's adoption."

"Just not the adoption we all thought was gonna happen," Will jabbed a bit harshly, glaring coldly at the man.

"Um… yes," Jacobs admitted carefully with a nod. "Unfortunately it seems to be that way."

"I'm afraid I'm confused," Optimus disclosed, watching the worker closely. "I was under the impression that I was to adopt Hunter and that everything was set for it to go through."

"I am afraid I was not aware of this adoption," Jacobs declared with a shake of his head. "I was simply told to come and retrieve Hunter."

"For this other adoption," Sarah cut in, giving the man a glare just as everyone else, save Hunter, seemed to be doing, "by these Prescotts. Who are they?"

"They are Hunter's relatives," Jacobs answered. "Her aunt and uncle to be exact."

Hunter's head suddenly shot up, her eyes even wider than they had previously been (if that were possible). She stared in total bewilderment. "My… _**what**_?" she croaked almost inaudibly.

"Your aunt and uncle," Trent Jacobs repeated with a small, friendly smile. "I can see you're surprised to hear about them. Evidently you didn't know you had family?"

Hunter didn't answer the question. She couldn't—she was far to shaken and stunned to. All she could do was close her eyes and lower her head to bury her face in her hands. Family? She had blood family? Why hadn't she known about this all these years?

"If these people are Hunter's relatives," Optimus said, gazing at his daughter empathetically before looking back at Jacobs, "why are they appearing now? Hunter has been in the foster system since she was three and she is now sixteen. They have had thirteen years to be a part of her life, so why are they making themselves known only now?" Now he was starting to get demanding. And why shouldn't he have been? He had every right to! Some strangers who claimed to be Hunter's family were just now showing up out of the blue to try and steal her away from him? Something didn't feel right with this picture.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," Trent replied regretfully. "All I know is that they're making an effort to reach out now."

"But why?" Optimus demanded. "Why now? Why is this happening now? I am two days away from adopting Hunter! Why did this fact not appear when we first began making arrangements?"

"The Prescotts live in Colorado," the social worker explained. "Hunter is enrolled in the state system of Nevada—it takes a while for the paperwork to go through and be processed. It may have even very well been lost in the mail until recently. There are a million reasons for why it didn't appear."

"Bull crap!" Epps exclaimed.

Annabelle gasped, her eyes wide with horror. "Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Epps said a bad word!"

"But what about first-come-first-serve?" Miko suddenly jumped in, not at all willing to see one of her best friends hauled away to some strange state. "I mean, Optimus here put in to adopt Red first—that's gotta count for something!"  
"Not in cases of blood relation," Jacobs responded with a shake of his head. "Family always takes precedent over everything else."

"But we are Hunter's family!" Bulkhead insisted.

"But not _**blood**_ family," Jacobs patiently explained, trying to make them understand.

"Sharing genetics does not make you family, Mr. Jacobs," Optimus rumbled firmly.

"According to national and state law," the worker countered, "I am afraid it very much does, Mr. Prime."

"Why?" The crackling, barely there whisper suddenly made everyone shut up, freeze, and look towards the person it had come from. Hunter will still frozen on the couch with her face in her hands, but then she slowly began to look up until her dumbfounded gaze met Trent Jacobs' eyes. "Why?" she repeated, only slightly louder this time. "Why do you people always do this to me? Just when I finally start to feel happy and something good finally starts to happen to me, you people always come in and smash it. Why?"

It took Jacobs a moment to reply, as he was shaken by her words. "Ms. James," he began, giving her the most sorrowful of looks, "I am so very sorry and I understand…"

"No!" Hunter suddenly snapped, desperate fury immediately replacing the shock on her face. "No, shup up! Just shup up! Don't you dare sit there and tell me how sorry you are and how you understand how hard and painful it is because you don't! You _**don't**_ understand! You don't get to sit there and lie to my face! You have no idea how hard it is to constantly be ripped away from people and places that you love! To constantly have all your dreams flushed down the toilet like they don't even matter! You don't understand what it feels like to feel so completely alone and so completely unloved you'd give anything for a loaded gun to take the pain away forever! So don't you sit there and tell me you do! And _**you**_!" Eyes beginning to shine with tears, the redhead suddenly whipped around on Optimus and began to target him. "You _**lied**_ to me, Optimus! _**You lied to me**_! You promised me this wouldn't happen—that I wouldn't be taken away again! You promised that everything was going to be okay and that we were going to be a family and you lied to me!"

The Prime could only stare at the child in horror for a moment before sorrow and pain came into his eyes. He desperately shook his head. "Hunter…" he murmured. "Hunter, no, sweet-spark…" he tried to reach out for her but she wrenched away.

"Don't touch me!" the teenager shrieked, lurching to her feet and pulling her hands behind her. She backed away as she shook her head. "Don't you dare touch me!" Hunter became quiet as she continued to gaze the that Prime's holoform, a pained look of betrayal written all over her face. A quiet sob escaped her. "You lied to me, Optimus," she whispered shakily. "You promised me and you _**lied**_." The girl gasped and raised a forearm up to hide her eyes as the tears threatened to spill over and with that she went running past Optimus, out of the room, down the hall and out the door.

Optimus was on his feet and running after her, trying to catch her. "Hunter!" he called after her, pleading. "Hunter, please. Hunter!" The Prime opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, but just like that there was a whoosh and a boom of the sound barrier and he knew that Hunter had kicked it into overdrive and was already far away from this place. Sighing heavily, Optimus sank down to sit in one of the porch chairs, and buried his head in his hands. This was a nightmare.

* * *

Most teenagers, when they're upset, will either go to their room or to a friend's house, or maybe even lock themselves in the bathroom when they get upset. But in many ways, Hunter wasn't most teenagers, which meant she went to none of these places when she was upset. She always went to Jasper's biggest—and admittedly only—tourist attraction: Oasis Lake. There was just something about the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, the soft sand, and the clear coolness of the air that really helped to calm her down and help clear her head. It was her own special place to get away from it all. Even when there were visitors at the lake—like there was today—it was her own private place away from the world. But today, it wasn't working. The calming effect wasn't working like it normally did. She was thinking more clearly and had gotten herself under control, yes, but her emotion were still a raging storm inside of her. The sixteen-year-old couldn't remember when she'd been more devastated. The entire world was crashing down around her and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

Among other noises Hunter's sensitive ears caught the sound of familiar tires humming on the road leading towards the lake. She remained sitting on the beach, unmoving as she stared out at the water and a young family that was playing there in the shallows. Finally she heard the hiss of airbrakes on the other side of the beach, an opening and closing of a door, and muffled footsteps shifting through the sand coming towards her. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to yell at you."

Sighing, Optimus' holoform sank down into the sand to sit beside her. He reached out and rubbed between her shoulder blades. "It's all right, Hunter," he assured her softly.

"I was just so upset," Hunter continued to explain, eyes still staring blankly out at the watery horizon, "and angry… and hurt." Her voice reflected each emotion. The teen squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her knees, pulling them closer to her chest as she hugged them. She released a quiet sob.

Optimus' spark, which was already broken at the prospect of losing his spark-daughter, broke even more at the sound of her crying. "Oh, My Shooting Star." The Prime put an arm around Hunter's shoulders and brought the girl closer to hug and cradle her in his arms. "I know, Sweet-spark. I know." He tried to blink back his own tears as he pressed his lips to the girl's hair.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Hunter curled up into a ball until she was in her spark-father's lap. She clutched at one of his arms. "Why?" she sniffled. "Why is this happening? Why does it always happen to me?" The teen buried her face in the nook of his elbow.

"I don't know, Love," Optimus replied, rocking her as he brushed his fingers through her long copper locks.

Hunter suddenly sat up and dried her eyes, a hard, cynical look on her face. "Oh, wait," she said. "I know why." She met Optimus' eyes. "Because I'm me and I can never be happy."

Optimus furrowed his brows. "Hunter, that is not true."

"No? Then explain to why this always happens. Dad, every single time in my life when people have tried or considered adopting me something has happened to stop it. Every time I finally start to feel loved and at home somewhere I always have to leave. At first it made sense because, "Oh, if I had been adopted by these people, I wouldn't have found you and the place where I'm really supposed to be." But now it's happening again! This is the place I really thought was home! You and the team were the ones I really thought were supposed to be my family. I thought I could finally relax and be happy here, but apparently not! I'm being taken away again and the only explanation that can possibly make sense of it all is the fact that I can never be allowed to be happy! I dunno what Primus or God or whoever else officially runs the universe has against me but whatever it is it means I can't be happy!" The hard, coldness left Hunter's face again and she released a pained sigh as more tears started to well up in her puffy, blood-shot eyes. She looked down. "I can never be happy," she whispered meekly. "I just might as well accept…" she broke off with a sob. Squeezing her eyes shut again, the sixteen-year-old hung her head and pressed her hand over her eyes as she started to cry again. Her shoulder shook with silent sobs.

Optimus pulled her back into another hug, holding her as closely and tightly as he could. He too squeezed his eyes shut as the tears threatened to escape. He couldn't cry. Not now. Not while Hunter needed him to be strong for her. …But it was just so difficult. For a long time the Prime didn't say anything for fear his voice would betray him, but when he was finally sure he had pulled together enough strength and will to keep it from quivering too much, he spoke. "You are being tested, Hunter," he murmured. "And being tested only makes you stronger."

"I don't wanna be tested," Hunter whimpered. "I don't wanna be stronger. I just wanna be happy…." She sobbed and buried her face into her spark-father's shoulder.

Silence reigned over the two as they simply sat there in the soft, red sand holding onto each other for dear life. They never wanted to let go.

Finally Optimus spoke again. "Let me fight for you," he requested, voice hardly above a whisper.

Hunter remained silent a moment more, trying to process what her father had just said, before she finally pushed away from him and looked up with a confused expression. "What?" she sniffled, wiping her eyes and nose again.

"Allow me to fight for you, Hunter," Optimus repeated, more certain of himself this time. "Allow me to fight for you so that you may stay here."

The girl was still trying to put together what he was talking about. "You mean… a custody battle," she finally concluded.

"If that is what it is referred to, yes," Optimus answered with an adamant nod. "Let me take this to your court system and find a way to keep you here." He was started to sound excited and certain about the whole thing now.

Hunter's expression only became sadder. She pressed her lips together in a thin line and slowly shook her head as more tears welled up in her eyes. "No," she barely even said the word.

"But why not?" Optimus challenged. "Is this not a regular occurrence in the human court systems? Hunter, you want to stay here and I want you to stay as well as everyone else. Allow me to try and gain official custody of you! If I do then your aunt and uncle cannot take you away and I can adopt you—we can be a family! Please. With Fowler helping us we can accomplish this—I know we can."

"No," Hunter said more loudly and firmly. "No, Dad, we can't."

"But why not?"

"Do you have any idea how long, hard, and brutal custody battles can be? Remember my friend Mark I told you about? His parents got a divorce and started fighting over custody of him: he was in court almost every other week with them. His parents drug each other through the mud so much and came up with so many nasty rumors about each other to try and get custody that he didn't even want to be with either of 'em anymore when it was all said and done. It was horrible just hearing him talk about it—I can't even imagine the nightmare it was _**living**_ it. They were both his biological parents. And you're talkin' about going to court against blood relatives of mine? Love doesn't mean anything in the courts, Dad, it's all about genetics."

"But I am your spark-father."

A skeptical look. "And that's what you're gonna tell 'em? That you're my spark-father? How do you think that's gonna fly, Dad? Because I can tell you right now—not well."

"That hardly seems fair."

"Of course it's not fair! This is the American court system we're talking about here—nothing is ever fair there! But it is what it is. And there's nothing we can do about that."

"I'm sure we can find a…"

"Dad, have you even thought about what could happen if you pursue this?" Hunter suddenly cut him off. "What could happen to the team and you? If my relatives are as dead set on adopting me as they really seem to be, they are gonna do everything they can to get me. They are going to hire people to look you up and dig into your background and find out everything they can about you to use against you."

"Hunter there is nothing for them to find," Optimus said, by way of trying to calm her.

"Exactly," Hunter responded with a nod. "And what happens when they can't find any evidence of your existence anywhere? They will take that to court and make some big case out of it—probably make you out to be some kind of criminal—and use it to win. Who do you think a judge is gonna side with? The nice married couple who share blood with me? Or the mysterious, single man who doesn't even seem to exist? Who would you pick?"

Optimus was quiet, starting to see Hunter's point.

"And that's not even the worst thing that could happen," Hunter went on. "Let's say they find out that you—by all rights—don't exist and they get curious about it. They start to dig a bit more and eventually they find out the truth. The whole truth. They could expose you to the entire world, Dad! And then what happens? Humans as a whole are not ready to learn that they aren't alone in the universe, Dad—you know that. If they find out that there aren't just aliens living among them but aliens warring among them and I can guarantee you there will be mass mayhem. They'll probably try to force you off world or hunt you down and kill you and…." Hunter sighed and looked down as she shook her head. "Hybrids can remain hidden, Daddy," she declared. "We've been on Earth for a long time; we have all the right ties to blend in and keep us here without people looking twice at us." She looked up to meet her father's eyes again. "But you Purebreds don't have that. Even with your disguises, if people find out about you, you will hunted down or forced to leave Earth and I…" her voice started to crack again, "… I can't let that happen. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something like that happened—I can't take it. I can't take it, Dad. I just can't…"

"Oh, Hunter," Optimus crooned, pulling into another hug. "Hunter, shh. Shh, it's all right."

"I can't take that chance, Daddy," Hunter squeaked into the Autobot commander's shoulder as she hugged him tightly. "I know it's a long shot, but I can't take. I can't risk something happening to you or never being able to see you again."

"I know," Optimus assured her. "I know. I understand." She was right. As hard and spark-breaking as it was, Hunter was right about everything and the Prime had to face it. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight for her. All he could do was love her as much as he could in the time he had left with her and then stand off to the side and watch on as she was taken away from him. That was the only thing he could do.

"I wish you could," Hunter sobbed.

"I know, sweet-spark," Optimus returned, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks. They were too stubborn to be stopped, no matter how hard he tried, so the Prime just quit trying to contain them. "I know. I wish I could as well."

"I love you, Daddy."

And that was it for the mech's spark. It had completely shattered. "I love you too, My Shooting Star. I love you too…" Optimus' voice cut out as a sob escaped him. Never had the Prime felt so helpless in his entire life-cycle. "I love you too." Holding his daughter closer, Optimus buried his face in her shoulder and quietly cried along with her as they watched their hopes and dreams of the future come crashing down around them.

* * *

**Confession #38:**

** I don't know which is worse: making Hunter cry or making Optimus cry. Or maybe it's making Hunter be revved and yell at Optimus. Yeah, it's probably that. I think that breaks my heart more than anything else here.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	15. The Long Goodbye

**Is it weird to say that, while I dreaded writing this chapter, I also looked forward to writing it as well? Yeah, it's weird.**

**So here we go, peeps! A major turning point in the story—it's gonna be pretty dark and intense from here on out. Be prepared for Optimus to go a bit rogue. I'll try to keep him true to character but still, all things considered in this story, and with as protective as he is of Hunter, I can't help but imagine him going and bit off the deep end. So just be ready.**

**WolfAssassin369—Good. That means I'm doin' my job right. With any luck you'll hate me even more after this one.**

**Alice Gone Madd—*throws party***

**AllSpark Princess—I know! I don't get that either—why is the foster/justice system like that? It's not fair! I mean, I can get them deciding for a really young kid who they get to live with, but for a child as old as Hunter, completely able and competent to decide who they want to live with? Not only is that unfair, it's just plain unjust and insulting!**

**redlinevcr—Um… you're welcome?**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"It doesn't matter what I want. It doesn't matter what I need. Doesn't matter if I cry… don't matter if I bleed! You've been on a road… don't know where it goes or where it leads…." Alison Krauss &amp; Union Station; _It Doesn't Matter_

15

Ω Partibus Longus Ave Ω

(The Long Goodbye)

Hunter stood in the center of her berthroom, slowly turning her head as she took everything in one last time. Her berth, the catwalk where she had a dresser, a small vanity, and human bed should she ever have friends stay over or simply fall asleep in human form before she could make it to bed—it would be the last time she saw it all. It would be the last time the place she thought of as home would actually be her home. After today, she wouldn't be at the base, she wouldn't be at the Lennoxes', she wouldn't even been in Nevada anymore! This was it. This was the final goodbye. As of today she would be starting another new chapter of her life, only… this was one chapter she didn't want. Or at least not written in this way; where she had to be taken away from everyone she loved—her family, her father. The teen didn't want any of this. And what made it hurt even worse was the fact that there was nothing neither she nor anybody else could do to change it. This was happening, whether she went along quietly or being dragged by the hair kicking and screaming. For everyone's sake, Hunter had chosen the former. Didn't mean she wouldn't be crying though.

A gentle hand was suddenly laid on Hunter's shoulder and she looked up to see Optimus standing there, gazing sadly down at her. "Hunter," he murmured, "it is time to go, Sweet-spark." The Hybrid's gaze shifted down and she silently nodded. The Prime bowed his head and placed a gentle, lingering kiss above her optic-ridge before slowly turning and exiting the room. The sixteen-year-old followed after him and turned to grab the double doors. Pausing, she took one last look around the room before releasing a long, quivering sigh and closing the doors to leave it all behind. She couldn't help but leave one final pat to the doors before trudging down the hall.

Optimus was standing and talking and Ratchet by the time Hunter got to the main room. Both mechs stopped what they were doing when she came in, turning to face her, sympathetic looks on their faceplates. Hunter looked down. She knew those looks couldn't be helped but she still didn't want to see them. She didn't want to feel like she was being pitied. After all she wasn't the only one who was being hurt here—Optimus was, her friends, pretty much everyone she was close to. "Please don't look at me like that," she mumbled. "I know you can't really help it, but please don't." Optimus and Ratchet nodded before looking down at the floor.

Sighing, Hunter came across the room and went up to Ratchet. She met his optics. "Ratch," she addressed him, "you really not gonna come out to the ranch with everyone else?"

The medic sighed and cleared his throat. "I would like to Hunter," he assured the teen, "believe me, but I do feel it's best to stay at the base. Someone must keep an optic out for Decepticon activity and be ready to run the bridge."  
Hunter nodded. She could understand that. But she could also read between the lines: Ratchet wasn't the best with emotions (who was?) and today was going to be about as emotional as anything could get. "All right then," she sighed, a corner of her mouth curling into a slight smile. "I guess this is goodbye then." For a moment she stood there motionless, but then the teen opened her arms and wrapped the medic in a warm embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.

For a moment Ratchet was caught completely off guard—it wasn't an everyday thing for Hunter to hug him—but then he slowly closed his arms around her. Lightly resting his cheekplate against her helm, the white and amber medic patted her backplate. "Shh," the hush automatically left his mouth. "There, there."

Hunter blinked at the sensation of tears. "I'm gonna miss you, Ratchet," she sniffed.

"Yeah, yeah," Ratchet replied quickly. "I'm… um…" he cleared his throat, "… going to miss you too." The mech lifted a digit and quickly wiped away a single tear right as it left his optic. He continued to hold the Hybrid a moment longer before letting her go. "All right," he said, gently shooing her away. "Go on now."

Optimus reached out and put a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Let's go, Hunter," he whispered. "Come on." They moved away from Ratchet and across the room.

Ratchet watched on as the two of them transformed and drove off. He couldn't believe it. This was the last time he was probably ever going to see Hunter again. A shaky sigh escaped him before he could stop it. "Goodbye, Hunter."

* * *

Optimus cab had never been so quiet. He could have been driving all alone, with no passenger at all, and there would have been more noise in the cab than there was now. The radio wasn't even going, and Hunter almost always had him play it whether they were going for a five hour drive or a five minute one. The silence was so heavy it was smothering. Neither knew what to say to the other and the hard truth was, neither really had any desire to talk, because talking could only bring more pain and it was already hard enough to keep the current pain from summoning tears. Nothing so inevitable had hurt so much.

Taking his holoform eyes off the road, Optimus glanced over at Hunter. She was just sitting there in his passenger seat, stone-faced, chin in her hand and elbow propped up on the door and she stared out the window at the passing landscape. The only movement she made was the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and the occasional blink. Once she scratched her leg, but that was about as big as it got. The redhead didn't look over, didn't talk, didn't do anything but sit and stare blankly.

Softly sighing, Optimus looked back at the road. Even if Hunter wasn't showing it, he could feel through their link the utter sparkbreak and anger swimming around inside her. He felt much the same way. The mech wasn't sure what he was angry at: the fact that Hunter was being taken away from him as if the whole year and expectant adoption hadn't meant anything at all or the idea that he should have filed sooner. He shouldn't have waited so long! He should have filed for adoption the very moment he realized just how much he loved the girl. If he had done that this wouldn't be happening right now. If he had done that Hunter wouldn't be leaving. If he had done that they would be a happy family that no one could separate! If, if, if, if….

"It's not your fault, Dad," Hunter suddenly said. Evidently she felt his guilt and self-contempt through their bond and had guessed what he was thinking. "It's not your fault. None of it is." And that was all that was said.

Optimus knew that Hunter was probably right. It was no use placing blame when there was no blame to be placed; these sorts of things were out of anybody's control. But he still couldn't help but feel guilt-ridden.

Finally they turned off the main road and pulled into the Lennoxes' driveway. What seemed like hours but was only a minute or two later passed and then they were pulling up and parking in the ranch yard. Trent Jacobs was already there with his car, packed with Hunter's things. Everyone else—the team, Lennoxes, Epps, and the kids—were all already there was well, gathered between them and Jacobs' car waiting to say goodbye. Sarah looked like she'd already been crying and Annabelle was crying. Miko herself looked on the verge of tears. Actually almost everybody did, though they were trying their hardest to fight them back for Hunter's sake. This was going to be hard enough without them.

Hunter averted her eyes from them all as she slipped on her backpack and exited her spark-father's cab. For the last time. She let her hand linger on the door for a moment until the Prime's holoform came around the corner of his alternate mode and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then they made their way towards the group. The teen kept her eyes down the entire time. She knew if she looked up and saw them she was going to start crying and she really didn't want to cry again. She'd been crying since they'd gotten the news yesterday—her nerves couldn't take much more of it. But when Annabelle suddenly came darting forward and tackled her with a desperate hug, Hunter realized she wasn't about to get off that easy. Tears already pricking at her eyes again, the sixteen-year-old knelt down and wrapped the little girl in a tight hug. "Aw, Annabelle," she crooned, trying to smile and laugh. "You're gonna make me cry."

"Don't go," Annabelle whimpered, burying her head in the teen's chest. "Hunter, please don't go. Pretty please?"

Hunter chuckled sadly. "I have to, 'Belle," she murmured.

Annabelle pulled away and looked up to meet her gaze. "But why?" she demanded meekly, baby-blue eyes red and shining with hot tears. "Why do you have to go?"

Sighing, Hunter brushed some of the child's golden locks behind her ear. "Because I have a family in another state that want me to be with them, and…" she swallowed hard, trying to fight back her own tears as she watched Annabelle's fall. "Well, I have to go to them."

"Do you even want to go?" Annabelle inquired.

Hunter couldn't lie, even if she'd wanted to. Silently she shook her head and just managed to mouth 'no'.

"Then why do you have to go?"

"Because, Annabelle, sometimes… sometimes—even when we want something really really bad—we don't always get what we want."

"That's not fair!"

"No. No, it's not fair. It's not fair at all and it sucks… but it is what it is. We can't change it, Annabelle; it's just the way it has to be." Hunter closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to gain control of herself, then she opened her eyes again and forced a smile. "Now, you be good, okay, Blondie?" she teased, playfully tugging Annabelle's curls. "Help your mommy, make sure your daddy stays out of trouble, and make sure you take good care of that baby when it comes, okay?"

A look of fear suddenly came over Annabelle's face. "Hunter, how am I gonna learn how to be a good big sister when you're not here to teach me?!" she exclaimed.

The teen couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry," she assured the little girl. "I'll be sure to write up a whole book about how to be one, okay? Complete with pictures."

"You promise?"

Hunter winked. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Hey, that's Pinkie Pie's thing!"

"Well, I'm borrowing it."

More tears suddenly welled up in the seven-year-old's eyes and she dove back in to hug Hunter again, holding her even more tightly this time. "I'm gonna miss you, Hunter," she sniffled.

The tears, which has somewhat receded from Hunter's eyes, suddenly came surging back, forcing her to screw her eyes shut in an attempt to contain them. She wrapped her arms around Annabelle and held her close. "Yeah," she agreed, voice cracking. She cleared her throat. "I-I'm gonna miss you too, Kiddo."

"I love you, Hunter."

Hunter swore her spark—which was already broken—was breaking again. "I love you too, Annabelle." She kissed the girl's head before slowly letting go of her and peeling herself out of the seven-year-old's grip. Then she stood. Her eyes immediately went to Will and Sarah's and she tried to smile, but it wouldn't hold. "I, um," she began, sniffing and wiping her nose, "I know that I was gonna get adopted by Optimus… but you guys are the best foster parents a kid could ever ask for. I mean that. And…" a lump came to her throat as the tears grew hotter. "And I…" she tried to swallow, "… I love you guys. So much." The redhead melted into their embrace when the couple reached out and grabbed for her, burying her face in their shoulders.

"We love you too, Hunter," Will murmured as he rest a cheek on her head. He spoke for both himself and Sarah, as his wife was crying too hard to say anything. "You are an amazing young woman, and we consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have been your foster parents."

The group pulled apart and Sarah took Hunter's face in her hands and pulled the girl down her height for a kiss on the forehead. She rubbed it in with her thumb as she met the teen's eyes. "We're still your family," the woman assured her, "and we will always be here for you, no matter what. Okay?" She hugged the girl one last time before letting her go.

Hunter barely had time to catch her breath before she was piled into another group hug by Jack, Miko, and Raf. She couldn't help but laugh as she hugged back. "You guys…."

"I can't believe it," Miko sniffled, looking up with tear filled golden-brown eyes to meet Hunter's sapphire ones. "Here I convince Fowler to go to all this trouble of making it so I can come back for another school year to hang out with all my best buds and now you have to leave! You didn't even get to go dune bashing with me and Bulk!"

Hunter sniffled and laughed. "You guys'll just have to bash some extra ones for me, then," she replied. She looked over her friends' heads towards the ex-Wrecker's massive holoform. "Ya got that, Bulk?"

Blinking back tears, the mech nodded. "You got it, Red," he assured her, clearing his throat as it slightly cracked. "We'll bash a whole bunch for ya."

Hunter nodded her thanks and turned back to focusing on hugging her pals before letting them go and moving on. Epps was her next target. Not so much because she went to him but more he pulled her to him and caught her up in a huge hug before she knew what was happening. She made no complaints.

"You be safe now, ya here?" Epps told her. "Don't let those Denver kids get the better of ya—they give you any trouble you show 'em what for."

Hunter chuckled. "I will," she replied.

"And if that don't work, you just give us a ring and we'll be there to back you up."

"Thanks, Epps."

"Oh, and—just a thought—make some progress on the boyfriend front, all right?"

The Hybrid rolled her eyes at the teasing but couldn't help but smile at the same time. Epps wouldn't be Epps without some comment like that. That was just how their relationship worked. "Sure thing," she replied, patting his back and pulling away to meet his gaze. "As long as you get a girlfriend."

Epps glared playfully at her. "Ah-ha-ha-ha," he laughed sarcastically. "Get outta here," he put his hand in her face and shoved her away good-naturedly.

Hunter laughed and brushed her hair out of her face before turning to face Arcee's holoform. She smiled awkwardly. Even though they were friends the femmling and Arcee had never been as close to each other as with everyone else. The two-wheeler always managed to keep an arm's length away—that was just who she was. "Well…" Hunter began, "… I guess this is good-bye. Looks like you're the only girl on the team again, 'Cee."

"Yeah," the femme replied with a slight smile. "Looks like."

"Hey!" Miko exclaimed, a bit offended. "What about me?" The two Cybertronians ignored her.

Arcee sighed and scratched the back of her head. "You know I'm not really one for the whole "mushy" stuff," she began, "but I think this situation calls for something more than a handshake, so…" without saying another word, Arcee stepped forward and—rather inelegantly—put her arms around Hunter in a loose and uncertain sort of hug. It was easy to tell she wasn't used to this kind of interaction.

And Hunter wasn't used to receiving it from her. For a moment or two the teenager froze in utter shock, unsure of what to do or think. Arcee was _**hugging**_ her. Yes it was a very awkward hug, but it was a hug nonetheless, and she very rarely—if ever—gave those out. When her bewilderment had finally worn off, Hunter carefully hugged Arcee back. It was for only a few seconds before the femme finally decided that the embrace had gone on long enough and pulled away, but even so it was nice. Both females exchanged a smile and a nod before Hunter moved on. She gave Bulkhead a quick hug before finally coming to Bumblebee. The sixteen-year-old bit her lip at the sight of her brother-figure's holoform standing there, looking like he was on the very verge of tears. She shook her head. "Don't, 'Bee," she whispered, feeling her tears coming back to haunt her again. "Please don't. Please don't cry, please." The pair threw their arms around each other and stood there for a long time with their faces buried in each other's shoulders as they both tried to keep themselves from crying.

After a minute 'Bee pulled back and gave Hunter a despairing look, his electric blue eyes beseeching. Shaking his head, he opened his mouth as if to speak, but of course he couldn't. (The damage to his vocalizer was so bad that it transferred over to his holoform.) But it was all right. Hunter could understand him pretty well even without the speech and in this instance just about anyone would have been able to decipher what he was trying to say.

Sniffling, Hunter combed her fingers through his light brown holoform hair and nodded. "I know," she responded with a nod. "I'm gonna miss you, too, Brother." A few tears started trickling down her cheeks. "I love you." The two of them kissed each other's cheeks before squeezing one another into a hug again. Finally, they released and backed away. That's when Hunter turned to face her final and most challenging goodbye: Optimus. Sniffling and trying to wipe away the tears, the teen slowly began to walk towards him, desperately try to keep control of herself. This was already a nightmare—if she started crying it would only make this whole thing harder for her spark-father and she didn't want that. She wanted to be strong for him, just as he had been countless times for her in the past: just as he had been last night when she'd spent hours crying herself to sleep in his arms. She _**needed**_ to be strong for Optimus. She owed it to him. Finally she was standing in front of the mech's holoform, well within arm's length, gazing up into his electric, sky-blue eyes—eyes that looked to be just as broken and pained as her probably looked.

For a long time neither spoke and simply continued to stare at each other. Finally Optimus broke the quiet. "Say it," he murmured. "Say the word, and I will contact Agent Fowler and begin making a case for me to adopt you."

Hunter pressed her lips into a firm line and hung her head. "Dad…" she sighed heavily.

"We can win, Hunter!" the Prime insisted, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her closer. "It may take some time, but I know I can gain custody of you!" Tears were starting to come to his holoform eyes, making his daughter's face swim in his vision. "Please, say the word, Hunter. Please say it! Please, please, please…." Optimus' voice cracked off, and he pulled Hunter into a crushing embrace, as if he was trying to push her right into his holoform body and make her a part of it. He screwed his eyes shut.

The teen held onto his just as tightly, digging her face into his chest as she tried to contain her own tears. She still didn't understand it. Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did it always have to go down like this? Why was it her spark that had to get broken all the time—couldn't somebody else take a fall for once? Maybe it was selfish to think that way, but so what?! It wasn't fair! Why did she have to be the one to lose everything that made her feel happy and loved and worthwhile? Other people got happy endings. Where the hell was hers? "I can't," she croaked. "I want to more than anything, Daddy—believe me I do—but I can't."

Optimus pulled away and met Hunter's gaze as he moved his hands to lovingly hold her face between them. He gazed deeply and sincerely into her eyes. "I would fight until the last beat of my spark for you, My Shooting Star. I would fight to the ends of the universe—known and unknown—for you."

"I know," his spark-daughter replied with a quivering, sad smile. She lifted a hand and cupped his cheek as she gave a soft chuckle and sniffled. "I know you would, Daddy, and I love you even more for it. But I can't let you fight for me this time—I cannot risk losing you forever." Hunter bit her lip and blinked rapidly to try and ward of the burning tears that were as desperate to be let free as she was to stay with Optimus. "My spark's already broken because of this, Dad," she whispered, "and that's bad enough. If I lost you… if I could never, ever see you again… that's it for me: I'm dead and I'm too spark-broken to come back—I know it." A tear trickling down her cheek, Hunter shook her head, a suppressed sob breaking away from her. "Don't do that to me," she squeaked. "Please, please, Daddy, don't do that to me—I can't take it. Please, don't. Please."

Optimus shook his head. "I won't," he conceded, though it was clear as day in his face to see that the agreement killed him. "I promise you, I won't."

Hunter nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Thank you. I'm so sorry, Dad, but thank you."

Prime couldn't stop the smile that curved his lips. "Anything for my little girl," he chuckled, tapping her nose with a finger. His smile widened when she smiled. "Hunter," he began after a moment, "I realize that the life we both hoped would happen for us is nothing but a distant memory now, but what I said the other night—the promise I made to you—still stands." Optimus looked down for a moment and sighed heavily before meeting the teen's sapphire blues again. "It's just… not quite in the way we both thought I meant," he amended. "I promised you that I would not allow anyone to take you away from me, did I not?" Hunter nodded. "And to that promise," Optimus continued, "I hold. They can never take you away from me—not truly. Here or in Denver I am your father and you are my daughter, nothing can ever change that. We will still remain a part of each other's lives, whether your aunt and uncle like it or not." The Prime's spark was lifted as that last part of the statement caused Hunter to giggle. It was always a joy to hear her laugh, even if the laugh was teary and broken as it was now. Optimus kissed her hair before pressing his forehead to hers, both of them closing their eyes as they tried to soak up every last bit of the togetherness they had left. It wasn't much. "This will not be the last we see of each other," the Autobot commander whispered. "I promise."

Hunter sniffled. "I don't wanna go," she confessed, softly.

"I know," Optimus replied.

"I wanna stay here with you."

"I know."

"You're my dad."  
"I know," Optimus murmured. "And you are my little femme." He kissed her on the bridge of her nose and pulled her into another hug. "My little femme."

After a moment, Hunter pushed back a bit and reached into one of the pockets of her vest. She pulled out her phone and pressed a few buttons. The teen looked up at her father again and held up her phone in front of him. "Daddy?" she whimpered. "Would you sing to me? On-One last time?" It was getting harder and harder to keep herself under control. "Please?"

Now despite the fact he sang Hunter to sleep nearly every night, and sang along with her to the radio whenever they were alone, not once had Optimus ever sung to her in front of anybody else. Not even in front of Annabelle, who was such like a niece to him. Oh, it was a safe bet that everyone else could guess that he did, but they never questioned him and he never confessed. It wasn't that he was ashamed or embarrassed by it (he could handle the ribbing that would come with it if it ever got out), it was just that it was for Hunter. Only for Hunter. Things meant only for Hunter were incredibly special and not meant to be shared with anyone else… unless she asked. And now she was asking. The Prime could not say 'no', not ever, much less now. Not now when she was standing there in front of him, tears running down her face even as she tried her hardest to fight them back for his sake, begging him to give her one last thing to hold onto of him and the bond they shared. Not now. Not now….

Swallowing hard, Optimus nodded. "Of course," he replied. "Come here, my little one." He pulled her back in close. Resting his head atop hers, the Prime took a deep, quavering breath and closed his eyes as he prayed to Primus to give him the strength to do this. A single tear dripped off his holoform eyelashes and onto Hunter's hair. Clearing his throat, the Autobot commander started the song.

"_Hush, my little one, no need to weep,_

_I am right here, guarding your sleep._

_Close your eyes, sweet-spark, in my arms I will rock…_

_You, beautiful sweet-spark, you I will rock._

"_No need to cry, little one of mine._

_No need to fear._

_My love will be with you._

_My love will be near._

_I'll be near._

"_Sleep now, my dear one, all will be well_

_I will protect you, and protect you I shall._

_Slip away, small one, slip off to dream_

_Tomorrow is far closer at hand than it seems…_

_Than it seems._"

By now Hunter was in complete tears, her shoulders shaking in muffled cries as she bit on her fist and buried her face into Prime's chest to keep them from coming out. She didn't want that recorded. She only wanted the sound of her father's beautiful voice to hold onto forever.

"_No need to cry, little one of mine_

_No need to fear._

_My love will be with you._

_My love will be near._

_I'll be near._

"_Dream peaceful things, dream only good_

_And I will keep out the nightmares, as my love only could._

_Dream of the sun, and of peaceful rains falling_

_Rise to the sun's calling._

"_No need to cry…_

_No need to fear…_

_My love will be near…_

_I'll… be… near._

"_I'll always love you, my little one_

_And will do so, till my passing's come._

_I love you more than Cybertron._

_Drift off, my child, drift off and dream_

_Worry not of tomorrow or the dark._

_I will guide you and not leave 'til morning light._

"I love you, My Shooting Star."

With that Hunter pressed the button to stop recording and let go an agonized sob as she now clutched onto her spark-father with both hands, even with her phone still in her grip. She couldn't hold back anymore. The wails came so painfully fast and hard that her knees buckled and she would have hit the ground had Optimus not been holding her. For a long time that was all she could do was cry and wail and border-line scream. She didn't care that everyone else saw: she didn't care what everyone else thought: she didn't care about anything anymore except the fact that her spark was totally shattered and she wasn't going to be with friends anymore. That she wasn't going to be with Optimus anymore. Even if they did have regular visits, even if they did get to see each other again it was never going to be the same. She wouldn't get to see him every day, feel his hugs and kisses every day, just get to be with him whenever she wanted. He would be there… but he wouldn't be _**there**_. It just… it just wasn't how this was supposed to be.

Optimus remained silently, just cradling his little girl close as she sobbed her spark out into his broad chest, unable to even voice the smallest form of verbal comfort. It was growing harder and harder to hold back his own tears. Several were already creeping down his cheeks, dripping off his chin to the ground. He sighed shakily.

"I don't care," Hunter suddenly stated, voice cracking. She pulled away a bit and met her Prime's eyes once again, shaking her head ever so slightly. "I don't care if they're my relatives or not—they'll never be my family. They had my entire life to come for me, but they didn't—_**you**_ did. You found me and came for me, just like you always do. I'll sign the papers, I'll take their last name if they want me to, I'll live in their house and follow their rules, but I'll never think of them as my family. You and the team and everyone here are my family—not them. _**You **_are my dad. _**You**_ will always be my dad." Her voice broke throughout the last statement as the tears kept falling, staining her cheeks and reddening her eyes all the more.

Optimus swallowed hard. Taking one of Hunter's hands in his, he placed over the space his spark-chamber would have been located in Cybertronian form and pressed it flatly and firmly there. "And you," he returned, looking deep into her eyes, "will always be in my spark. Always."

Biting her lip as the tears turned hot again, Hunter dove back into her father's arms.

"Um, Ms. James?" Trent Jacobs, all but completely forgotten in the background, piped up. "I'm terribly sorry, but we do have to leaving shortly."

The sixteen-year-old held onto Optimus for a moment longer before finally, hesitantly pulling away. She wiped her eyes. "Tell Ratch, even though we've already said goodbye, that I missed him here," she sniffled after a moment. She kept her eyes on the ground, knowing that if she looking up and meeting the Prime's eyes again would only bring on another sob session.

Optimus nodded. "I will," he assured her. "Contact us when you arrive, and when you are settled in."

Hunter nodded back and was quiet for a moment before sighing and slipping off her backpack. Opening it, she reached inside and pulled out one of her most beloved possessions: her stuffed wolf Blue. The girl set her bag down and held the little wolf in her hands, gazing and smiling lovingly at it. This thing had been through a lot with her—a lot of adventures. "You've always been there for me, Blue," she murmured to the little wolf, chuckling a bit as she sniffed and wiped her nose, "making sure I'm okay, keeping an eye on me, making me feel safe. And now I've got a very important mission for you, little buddy." Turning the little animal around so that it was facing away from her, Hunter held it up to her father. "I need you to look after my dad," she squeaked through a single sob. "Okay? Make sure he stays safe." That's when Hunter called up all her courage and looked up at Optimus once more.

For a long moment Optimus stared at the fuzzy little stuffed critter in utter shock before ever so slowly reaching out and taking it into his hands. Bringing it closer her gazed into the unblinking, somehow soulful little button eyes. He couldn't believe it. Hunter was… giving him Blue—the one friend that had been with her through all the ups and down as far back as she could remember? "Hunter…" he croaked out, swallowing hard, "… I-I cannot accept him." He looked at his daughter and shook his head. "Sweet-spark, I cannot take Blue away from you—not now."

Hunter slightly smiled and shook her head. "You're not," she assured him. "I'm giving him to you." She chuckled. "After all, someone's gotta make sure you stay outta trouble, Dad, and since I'm not gonna be here… well… I trust Blue." The teenager took a quivering breath as she added, "Besides, you need something to remember me by."

Optimus smiled at her. "Huntress Starstreaker James," he crooned gently, "there is nothing in this universe that could ever cause me to forget you. Nothing."

Hunter started to smile, but it quivered away as the tears—which had never really stopped—came back anew. "I love you, Daddy." She lunged and wrapped her arms around the Prime's neck, nuzzling into the crook of his shoulder.

"And I love you," Optimus returned, squeezing her tight. "More than anything."

For the longest time the two held onto each other tightly, as if they never, ever wanted to let one another go. Truly they didn't. They knew that if they did, that would be it—that would be the last time they held each other for a long time, and the last time they did as a true family. Neither wanted that to happen. Neither wanted to let each other or everything they had together go. But they didn't have a choice. This was the reality they lived in and they had to face it, no matter how much it broke them to or how unfair it seemed. Finally they let go.

Hunter reached down, picked up her bag, and slipped it on her shoulders, all the while keeping one hand on Optimus' arm and her eyes locked on his. Slowly she began to back away, still not letting him go. Optimus, in return, refused to let her go as well. Hunter took a deep breath and shakily released it. "I love you," she said one last time, voice hardly above a croaking whisper.

"I love you," Optimus repeated with a slight nod, more tears trickling down his cheeks. He loosely gripped onto her arm, letting it slide through his hand, until finally their hands were together and he squeezed tighter, the last rebellious remnants of his longing to have her stay here refusing to let him let go. Hunter seemed to be thinking the same thing as she tightly gripped his hand back. But in the end they both knew what had to happen. Finally they let go and their hands slowly slipped out of each other's, lingering as long as they could, even to the very tips of their fingers. And then it was gone. They were separated… forever.

Hunter back-stepped a few more feet, never taking her eyes away from those of her spark-father before finally having to slowly turn and trudge towards the vehicle Jacobs was standing beside. She stopped before the door the service worker held open for her and turned one last time to look at Optimus. When he gave her a small smile she tried to do the same, but it was as plastic as a Barbie doll. There was no point in being fake—no point in trying to make it seem like this was all going to be okay, even just on face-level. It wasn't going to be okay. It was never going to be okay again. Turning away again, Hunter slipped into the back of the car, Jacobs closing the door behind her before walking around the car to the driver's side. The redhead kept her eyes down, hanging her head so that her long hair hid her face until she felt herself cast in shadow. She looked up to see Optimus standing there, gazing sadly down at her. Biting her lip, Hunter reached out with a shaking hand and pressed her palm against the window, watching as he did the same. The Hybrid didn't think she had anymore tears left to cry by then, but apparently she was wrong because more came like a waterfall down her face. They were almost starting to hurt.

"Daddy…."

"Hunter…."

Optimus continued to stand there, gazing into his spark-daughter's eyes and touching her palm through the glass until the car started to move and pull away. Even then he let his hand slide along until the vehicle was out from underneath of it. He watched as it drove off, taking Hunter away with it. In his entire life, the Prime could think of only one thing that he had be forced to do that was harder and hurt worse than this, and that had been watching Hunter die for the first time in his arms. In some ways, this was harder and hurt even worse. Unable to stop himself, the Autobot took a few steps as if he were about ready to chase after the car before he finally forced himself to stop. He reached out one last time. "Please do not take her away from me," he just barely whispered. "Please…." It was no use.

On her knees in the back of the car, gazing out the back window, Hunter watched as her father and family grew slowly smaller. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she pressed her palm against the window as she watched Optimus reach out for her. "Fight for me," the words that Optimus had begged her to say, the words that had been festering up and pushed back before suddenly fell quietly from her tongue. Too little, too late. There was no going back now. "Dad…."

They all watched on as the car drove off down the driveway before turning onto the road and disappearing from sight around the bend. An uncomfortable silence settled over everything. All heads finally turned to a motionless Optimus holoform, still standing in the same spot he had forced himself to stop. Everyone remained quiet, unsure of what to say. Jack was the one brave enough to dare breaking it. "Uh… Optimus?"

The Prime slowly hung his head. "I…" he began, almost too quiet to hear, "… would like some time to be alone."

"Yeah, sure," the kids replied at once.

"Of course, Optimus," Arcee said at the same time.

"Whatever you want, Boss 'Bot," Bulkhead responded.

The agreements when on and on.

Optimus nodded. "Thank you." And with that his holoform made its way back towards his alternate mode, opened the door, carefully set Blue inside on the seat, and disappeared. A second later the engine of his alt. form rumbled to life and the semi slowly began to back away before turning and puttering dejectedly off down the road.

The others all watched empathetically after him. If seeing a spark-broken Hunter was hard, seeing an utterly spark-broken Prime was even harder. Epps shook his head. "This ain't right, man," he murmured. "I'm tellin' ya, it just ain't right! Relatives of Hunter's or not, these people got no right to be bustin' up these two like this—Prime and Hunt are _**family**_! It ain't right!"

"I know, Epps," Lennox agreed. "But what're ya gonna do? The law's the law, brother. It sucks but that's just the way it is—we can't change it."

"I still don't like it," Epps insisted.

"None of us do," Sarah commented. "But we have to live with it."

* * *

Optimus drove off the road towards the mesa and through the hidden door when it opened before him. Slowly idling down the passage he came to the large main room of the base at the end and braked to a complete stop before transforming. He began to walk towards the hallway.

"Optimus," Ratchet's voice suddenly stopped him.

Head already hanging, the Prime didn't lift it or turn around when he responded. "She is gone, Ratchet," he stated, voice breaking ever so slightly. "Hunter is gone." And with that, the Autobot commander left the room and plodded down the hall towards his berthroom, disappearing inside and locking the door behind him. Bracing a hand against the door, Optimus shuddered with a small sob. He sniffled and slowly turned towards the door that separated his room from Hunter's. He went to it. Opening it, he stepped inside the opposing room just enough to lean up against the doorframe and let his gaze wander. The room seemed so incredibly bare. It had always had a bit of a minimalist feel since they'd cleared out the storage in order for it to be Hunter's berthroom (something they had been planning to remedy when she officially moved in) but at least with the teenager in the room it had had some life to it, some lightness and happiness. Now there was just… nothing. It was just dark and cold and lonely… just like how Optimus' spark felt.

Blinking back tears, the Prime suddenly looked down to his loosely fisted hand and held it up. He slowly opened it. There, lying in the middle of his palm, was Blue, looking so lonely and abandoned without his owner. That did it. The tears Optimus was trying so hard to fight back suddenly broke loose as did the sobs that accompanied them. Screwing his optics tightly shut and gritting his denta in unbelievable emotional agony, the mountainous, seemingly unbreakable mech broke down sobbing. He slid down the wall until he was seated on the floor and put his hand over his eyes in an attempt to hide the tears. Gently closing his hand around the stuffed wolf again, Optimus brought it close and held it to his spark. He could feel nothing, but utter pain. He could see nothing but a huge, yawning, empty chasm in his life where Hunter had once been. He could think of nothing except the fact that his life was changed—for the worse—forever. Hunter was gone. And, even if they managed to work out a visitation schedule—as Fowler had assured him they probably could when the news of Hunter's new adoption arrangement had been relayed to him—she was never coming back again. "My little femme," Optimus quietly wailed. "Hunter… I am so sorry, Hunter. I am so sorry…. My little femme…."

* * *

**That Evening (I-70);**

For the thousandth time since they'd left the sight of the Lennoxes' ranch, Hunter pressed the button on her phone to replay the song Optimus had sung for her. And for the thousandth time it started playing. Staring out the window, head resting on the back of the seat, the sixteen-year-old listened to closely to every syllable, every note change, every breath, break, rest, everything. She never wanted to forget her father's voice. She wanted to memory to be so strong that it was almost like he was right there with her, even when he wasn't. Even when he couldn't be. She never wanted to forget.

Up in the front seat, Trent Jacobs couldn't help but sigh in aggravation and roll his eyes. He was getting tired to hearing it. "Hey, kid," he called, looking at her in the rearview. When she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he asked, "Mind putting that thing away?"

Still glaring at him, Hunter pressed the button to stop it. But once he'd thanked her and looked away from her she immediately pressed it again to start playing the recording.

Jacobs quietly groaned. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I thought I asked you to shut that off."

Sighing, and lifting her head up, Hunter replied snarkily, "Yeah, well, I thought I was going to get adopted by my father and not some random relatives I just found out existed. So it looks like neither one of us is gonna get what we want."

Jacobs rolled his eyes. "Hey, sweetheart, don't blame me for this, all right?" he tried to clear himself. "I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just doin' my job—that's it. I don't make the decisions."

"Don't care," Hunter snapped. "Still don't like you."

"Okay, well, if it means anything, I'm sorry."

Hunter pursed her lips and did some quick inner-searching. "You're right—it doesn't mean anything." She went back to focusing on her songs.

"You got a real attitude problem, kid," the social worker informed her. "Ya know that?"

"I've only got an attitude problem when my BS reader is going off," Hunter countered. "And right now you're makin' it go off the charts, so don't expect it to get better anytime soon, pal."

Jacobs snorted and shook his head, smirking slightly. Annoying as she was, this girl had fire and mouth to match—he'd give her that. "With an attitude like that," he commented, "I can't help but wonder why your relatives would wanna adopt you in the first place, much less that other guy." He slyly looked into the mirror. "What's his story anyway?"

"Who?"

"The guy who was gonna adopt you back there."

"Optimus?"

"Yeah."

"No story," Hunter lied. Obviously there was a _**major**_ story there!

"Aw, come on, kiddo, don't give me that," Jacobs chuckled a bit to patronizingly. "A middle-aged single guy wanting to adopt a sixteen-year-old foster girl isn't exactly the norm. There's gotta be some reason behind it." He looked in the mirror. "He ever do anything to you?"

Hunter stopped the recording, utterly shocked by what she thought she was hearing. Slowly she looked up. "Ex… excuse me?" she gasped incredulously.

"You heard me," Jacobs replied looking away.

"You better hope I'm hearing you wrong!"

"Now, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Hunter. You wouldn't be the first foster kid to be preyed upon—you can't help it. Some people are just sick and get their kicks off going after loved-starved kids."

"I am _**not**_ love-starved!" Hunter asserted, sitting forward in her seat and death-glaring at the man. How dare he make these insinuations against her spark-father! Optimus wasn't like that! He could never be like that! "Or at least I wasn't until you and the friggin' agency came in and ripped me out of my home! And do you honestly think I would let some creep do something to me?! I've been there before, buddy, and I threw the ass under an oncoming train—nobody is touching me without my say so! And don't you _**dare **_talk about Optimus like that! Don't you dare! He isn't like that! He has never touched me or looked at me wrong or made me feel uncomfortable in any way! He loves me and I love him—he's my dad! You understand me?! My dad!" A sorrowful look came over Hunter's face. "The only thing he ever did wrong was think he could adopt me and we could be a family and he wasn't the only one in the wrong there." The anger came over her face again. "So unless you got a death wish, Jacobs, I suggest you shut your mouth about Optimus, got it?"

The man held up a hand in surrender. "Okay," he conceded. "Okay." Man, this kid could get intense! And something told him that the threat wasn't idle either; this girl meant serious business. So he'd do as she asked. For now.

A suddenly glint caught the man's eyes and he looked up, relief flooding through him. There is was! The dedicated mile marker, and the convenience station not much farther beyond. Passing the marker, he started counting down. "_Three… two… one._" There was the sudden pop sound and the vehicle was jarred and veered.

"What the heck?" Hunter called out in surprise.

"Ah, crap," Jacobs commented. "Sounds like we blew a friggin' tire. Damn it! I'll have to change it up here at the station." He sighed heavily. "So much for keeping with the schedule." Pulling off at the exit, the man pulled into the station and parked. He got out and quickly glanced around, Nobody was here. Perfect! Walking around the car, Jacobs opened up Hunter's door and asked, "Hey, you know how to change a tire?"

Hunter looked him up and down a bit suspiciously before answering slowly, "Yeees."

"Great. Get out here and help me then. We'll get on the road faster."

The teen rolled her eyes and let her head fall back in exasperation. "Fine. Whatever." She got out of the car.

"Thank you," Trent replied. "And try to keep the attitude to a minimum."

"Don't press your luck, bub."

Jacobs brought her around to the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk. "Okay," he sighed, reaching inside. "I got the jack and you got the tire, okay?"

"Whatever." The teen waited until he'd pulled out the jack and jack handle before bending down and reaching for the tire. Wow, it was really pushed into the back there!

Standing off to the side, Jacobs watched intently as the girl reached back into the trunk for the tire. He nervously fidgeted with the loose jack handle, waiting for the perfect moment. When he was sure he had it, it grasped the handle as tightly as he could in both hands, swung up up and cracked down as hard as he could across the teen's back.

"Oof!" Completely caught off guard, Hunter was knocked off her feet, driving her down against the side of the trunk. It knocked the wind out of her. But unfortunately for Jacobs, that was all it did. "What the hell?!" Hunter was up on her feet and wheeling on the social worker—who was just staring in disbelief at the bent jack handle—in the blink of an eye. She bared her teeth in a savage growl. "Dude!" she exclaimed, coming at him. The redhead knocked the handle out of his grip and seized him by the front of the suit before jerking him right off his feet and up into the air. "The hell is your problem, man?!"

Completely horrified by this girl's freakish strength as well as her reaction, Jacobs began fumbling around in his pockets. Where was it?! Where had he put it?! What pocket was it in?! If he didn't find it _**right now**_ he was going to be a dead man—he was sure of it! Finally his hand brushed the hard lump in his pocket and he quickly dove in to grab it.

"Seriously, man!" Hunter raged, shaking him. "What is your damage?!"

Jacobs fumbled with the cork on the vial before finally yanking it out, but when it was, he quickly poured the contents of it into the girl's face. "How 'bout you just chill, bitch?!"

Hunter was blinded as some sort of powered was thrown into her face. Squeezing her eyes shut, she dropped Jacobs and quickly backed away, coughing and sneezed and rubbing at her eyes. What in the world?! "Jacobs!" she screeched, coming at him again when she'd recovered. "I've just about had it with yo… you… y-you…." All at once the redhead felt incredibly tired. Everything around her began to spin and go dark and she took a few stumbling steps before falling forward into Jacobs' arms, fast asleep.

"Holy!" Jacobs exclaimed as he caught the girl, surprised by her weight. "You sure are a big girl, ain't ya?" Grunting, the man hefted the unconscious teen up into his arms bridal style and carried her to the trunk. He carefully propped her up against the car as he retrieved the spare tire from the back and then he picked her up again and hefted her into the trunk. Then he grabbed the chains near the back and began to loop them as quickly as he could around the teen. He didn't want to be caught if anybody else came pulling into the station. Finally he padlocked the chains and slammed the trunk shut.

* * *

**Confession #39:**

** I had two songs picked out for this chapter: 1) **_**It Doesn't Matter **_**by Alison Krauss &amp; Union Station: and 2) **_**Hurts Like Hell **_**by Fleurie. I couldn't pick which one to go with so I flipped a coin and **_**It Doesn't Matter **_**won. But I highly suggest you go listen to the other if you haven't heard it already. It's sooo amazing! I actually listened to that song for the duration of writing this chapter. It put me in the mood in a way I can't explain.**

**Confession #40:**

** There is nothing special about Blue beyond the fact that he's Hunter's special stuffed animal that she got from Greasy when she was just a baby.**

** Or maybe he comes to life like the toys in Toy Story when nobody's around.**

** WHO KNOWS?! **

** I dunno!**

** You dunno!**

** NOBODY KNOW!**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	16. Alone and Far From Home

**Yay! Finally got this thing done! Took me a while to write this thing because I actually changed a major detail about mid-way through this. Originally Optimus wasn't supposed to find out that Hunter was abducted until like a week or so later. Then I got to thinking that it didn't make a lot of sense that way. Wouldn't he be suspicious if Hunter didn't contact him for a week? Especially when he told her to call when she was settled in? He could let it go for a day maybe—deciding she was tired and what not, but a whole week? I don't think so! So, in order to do this I had to rethink a few things that I already had planned/mentioned in the preview (which will probably change a tiny bit regardless) to make it fit. But I'm really happy with the way it's going now.**

**(Note: Also watching 'Taken' again may have caused me to change the detail a bit too. Just saying!)**

**SunnSides—Well, depression is going to be a part of Optimus' mood change, but we'll also see rage and other unpleasantness with him before it's over. Not like seriously dark stuff but… yeah, you get the picture. I mean, come on, it's his kid! Why wouldn't he go a bit rogue?**

**AND: I'm not entirely sure yet, I hope soon. So far Ratchet hasn't given me much to type up yet. And, hey, Hunt! Question for you!**

***Hunter reads question over my shoulder* Heck no!**

**AllSpark Princess—Greasy will be back, but not for a while yet.**

**Alice Gone Madd—Oh, he will be. You can bet on that!**

**WolfAssassin369-*beams with pride* Mwah-ha-ha-ha…. MWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Epic Score; _Prepare for the Onslaught_

16

Ω Solus itaque Procul E Domus Ω

(Alone and Far From Home)

With a soft moan, Hunter began to wake up. The first thing she realized was the fact that she felt cramped—it was almost like she wasn't folded doubled- but tripled-up with very little room to move at all. The second thing she realized was the fact that she was chained up, and that didn't make things any more comfortable. Groaning, the sixteen-year-old opened her eyes—blinking some residual dust out of them—and was met with pure blackness. For a brief moment, she panicked. She couldn't see anything! Had she been blinded by whatever that dust was the Jacobs had dumped in her face? Why couldn't she see?! It took a moment for the girl to calm down and realize that she was not in fact blinded; there was enough light to allow her to see that, though it was fairly dim. There was also just enough light for her to make out her surroundings. A trunk. She was in the trunk of a car.

Hunter was confused until she remembered what had happened at the convenience station. It all came together. There had never been any real out of state adoption at all. That had all just been a ruse to get her away from Optimus and her team so that she didn't have protection—this purported aunt and uncle of hers probably didn't even exist! Sure, the papers Jacobs had submitted to them when they'd requested them had looked official enough, but it wasn't that difficult to forge documents. Then once Jacobs had gotten her alone and far enough away from home he'd dropped the social worker act, knocked her out with some kind of sleep powder, and flat out kidnapped her. Question was: who was he working for? Hunter was willing to bet it was this Hybrid group who she'd gone into hiding from. They'd probably paid Jacobs off to come and get her and then bring her to them, rather than go after her themselves and risk and full frontal confrontation with her family. The teen doubted Jacobs was one of them. He'd been stupid enough to try and knock her out by using a jack handle before he'd thrown the powder in her face. Had he been a Hybrid, the handle probably would have done the job, but there'd been hardly enough force behind the blow to knock her dizzy. He was definitely human.

The redhead's attention then turned to the chains wound around her. Focusing on the coils around her wrists, Hunter—as quietly as she could—tried pulling her hands apart. It worked! The chains snapped with a quiet _**chink! **_Hunter couldn't help the grin that parted her lips as she realized that the idiot Jacobs had restrained with standard chains. Yes! Suddenly a new sound drew the girl's attention. Slightly shifting and craning her neck around, the young Hybrid listened intently at the muffled noises coming through the trunk of the car. Voices. Definite voices. Two distinct ones; Jacobs' and another that was deep but definitely female. Judging from the echoing sound, they were all in some kind of large building—maybe a warehouse.

"You're late," the woman said. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Not my fault," Jacobs quickly answered. He was obviously afraid of this woman—whoever she was. "First of all the kid had to say goodbye to every single last one of the people in her life—I swear they put on a family reunion in order to say goodbye! I thought I'd be 80 before we finally got outta there! Second it's not like I have somebody with me in the car who can read the map! I don't got a photographic memory and it's not like I can drive and read the map all at the same time—not if you want me to get here at all."

"Calm yourself," the woman ordered. "The important thing is that you got the girl here, which you did. I don't care about anything else."

"All right then," Jacobs huffed. "So, uh… where's my reward for my, uh, _**services**_?"

There was silence for a moment before the woman ordered in Latin, "_Adducet partibus pecunia_." (_Bring the money_.) A second later there was the sound of canvas bags exchanging hands. "Here's your money," the woman said. "And a bonus."

"Uh…" Jacobs stammered, "… not that I'm the kinda guy to turn down free money or nothin' but, what's the bonus for?"

"Your silence," the woman answered. "This transaction never happened. I have no doubt this'll keep your lips sealed, but just so you know, if you ever talk to anyone about what happened here or anything involving any of this you will be severely punished. And I don't mean being sent back to prison. Am I understood?"

There was the sound of a nervous gulp. "Wh-whatever you say, Lady," Jacobs replied. "Whatever you say."

"Good," the woman praised him, a sneer in her voice. "You did well, Philips. We never could have done this without you."

Hunter's eyes widened and her stomach plummeted. Jacobs wasn't Jacobs—he was Philips! He'd conned them in more ways than just the adoption scam!

"So," Philips replied with a hinting sort of tone, "does that mean I get a "never-coulda-done-this-without-you" bonus too?"

"You're teetering very close to the edge, Philips," the woman replied dangerously. "Don't press your luck."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"But as a matter of fact," the woman went on. "you more or less do." There was the sound of a tarp being whipped around in the air and then Philips let loose a sudden, obviously excited holler. "I take it you approve?"

"You kiddin'?!" Philips laughed. "It's a Lamborghini, woman!"

"Right," the woman replied monotonously. "It's yours; just try not to wreck it. Our generosity stops here—we owe you nothing else." There was a heavy sigh and the sound of feet coming towards the car. "So you got her chained up?"

"Yeah," Philips answered, though from how distant his voice sounded, it was a safe bet he was still ogling his new wheels. "In the trunk." He snorted. "At first I thought that stuff you gave me to knock her out wasn't gonna work—I thought I was a dead man!"

"You didn't use it on her first thing?"

"I didn't think I needed too—y'all didn't tell me she was some kinda super-bitch."

"We assumed you were smart enough to figure out that we gave you the sleeping dust for a specific reason and would know to use it."

"You know what happens when you assume, sweetheart," Philips chuckled. "You make an ass out of you and…"

"You," the woman interrupted. "Just you, Philips. And if you want to live to take that car 15,000 mile check I suggest you don't ever call me "sweetheart" again." There was suddenly pat on the trunk, startling Hunter. "Remove the girl," it didn't sound like the woman was talking to Philips now, "and everyone remain on high alert. She could be waking up, and I don't care if she's chained up or not—you all know what happened to the last group that was sent after her. We don't give her that kind of chance again." The woman's footsteps retreated, but at the same time it sounded like more were coming towards the car.

Trying to think of how to play this as quickly as she could—which was hard to do when you could hear hands on the trunk and the latch thunking open—the teen finally decided to close her eyes and try to lay as still as possible. Maybe if they thought she was still asleep they would be less on their guard.

The masked, Hybrid soldiers opened the trunk and looked down as the still form of the girl chained up there. "Looks like she's still out," one of them commented. He couldn't have been more wrong. Right then and there Hunter acted. Opening her eyes she kicked a leg up and back, successfully breaking the chains and sending out a wave of intense blue flames from her foot right into the faces of the soldiers. With a yell, they all fell back, some having to stop, drop and roll as their uniforms caught aflame.

The woman whose voice Hunter had heard before suddenly whirled on Philips. Behind her mask her face was twisted into rage. "You chained her up with standard chains?!" she shrieked. "Imbecile! Where are the Leviathan chains—why didn't you use them?!"

"I forgot and left 'em back in my motel room!" Philips answered, looking horrified. "I figured what's the difference!"

"You idiot!"

No longer hemmed in in the trunk, Hunter jumped out and shook the rest of the chains loose. Yes! She was free! Immediately turning her gaze to the soldiers that had attempted to unload her, the sixteen-year-old snarled, clenched her fists, and released her blades. She charged. "Rraahh!" The young Hybrid leapt into the air and planted both feet into the chest of one of the men as she came down, driving him forcefully down into the ground. "Hrah!" She made two quick slashes of her razors through his face, killing him. There would be no holding back this time—no mercy. These people had taken her away from her family. They were going to learn just how severe the mistake they'd made was. They were going to pay!

Hearing footsteps running towards her, Hunter glanced over her shoulder to see the other four soldiers coming at her. A growl thundered out from her throat. Without a second to spare she leapt into the air and backflipped down into the middle of them, clawing one of the women down her back as she came down. "Hup!" Standing up, the teen quickly looked to the right and threw her arm up, catching a sword on her blades. "Uh!" Then she pivoted and drove her other set of blades into the man's spark chamber. "Huh!" Whirling around again, Hunter ran up the front of another soldier and ripped his yet sheathed sword out of its holster before shoving off the Hybrid's chest towards the other woman. "Hah! Huh!" She slammed her knee into the female's face, knocking her backwards and then spun around again, swinging the sword and decapitating the solider she'd relieved it from before turning back towards the woman she'd knocked away. Running for her she used the woman—struggling to get up—as a springboard. "Hrah!" Hunter landed in a kneeling position on the ground and quickly pushed herself up, sword up and at the ready. She found herself surrounded by at least two dozen more armed soldiers. Seriously, where the heck did these people come from?! They were like roaches!

"Huntress James!" one of them shouted. "Stand down!"

"You first!" Hunter snapped back, quickly moving around the circle to keep an eye on as many of them as she could. The teen was backed into a corner—she knew that—and she more than likely wasn't going to win, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Win or lose, she would make her stand!

"Screw this!" Philips—who was somewhere beyond the ring of Hybrids—shouted. "I'm out!" There was the sound of a door slamming, a car engine roaring to life, and tires quickly peeling away and out of the warehouse.

Hunter continued to pivot around the center of the circle, doing her best to keep her attackers back, but she knew that if they decided to come at her there wouldn't be much she could do. She might be able to take out a few, but with this many against her and with them all around her… her odds weren't good. A sudden chuckle drew the girl's attention to one section of the ring and she quickly turned in that direction, ready for anything.

The sea of soldiers parted and through the way they made came sauntering a tall woman. It was easy to see that she was the commanding officer here. "Well, well, well," she murmured, "face to face with the Fuser herself at last." Hunter recognized her voice as that of the woman who had been talking with Philips. For another moment or two, the woman was quiet as she looked the teenager over before finally stating, "You're not as impressive as I envisioned you to be." That earned a growl from the child. "Oh, please excuse me," the woman suddenly pardoned herself, "I haven't properly introduced myself and it only proper you know the name of the person who will be taking you captive. I am Dusk."

"Good to know," Hunter snarled. "I'll be sure the people who carve your headstone know that."

Dusk chuckled. "You're a blusterous one, aren't you?"

"It's not bluster," Hunter insisted, but even that was a lie. Of course it was bluster. I mean even she knew by taking just one look at this woman that there was next to no chance of putting her in the ground! Maybe in a decade or so but not today!

"Hmm, I believe you," Dusk conceded, taking a few more steps towards the teen. "Or at least I would if you had a couple hundred years more of training and battle experience under your belt. I have no doubt that you are a natural born warrior, Hunter, and a powerful one at that. For your age and the time you've been fighting you are rather accomplished, I won't lie. But you're still very much a neophyte, little girl. Do you honestly think you have what it takes to defeat—not just myself—but my entire squad?" The woman chuckled darkly and shook her head. "This isn't like all of your battles before, little one," she said. "You're all alone in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go and nobody to come to your aid, surrounded armed and highly trained soldiers who—in addition to having strict orders to bring you back to the Mistress—are out for revenge because of what you did to their brothers back at Olympus High." A growl rumbled up from Dusk's throat. "Nox and Umbra were my best apprentices."

Hunter couldn't help the smirk that curled her lips. "I wasn't impressed," she taunted.

Dusk made a snorting sound. "I assure you, child," she stated, "I will be a much tougher challenge than my former pupils. I may have taught them everything they knew, but I did not teach them everything _**I**_ know." She sighed and held her hands out in motion to all of the soldiers that were now surrounding both herself and the sixteen-year-old now. "Question is; are you willing to take that challenge?"

Hunter looked left, looked right, and slowly turned around to once again take all of the soldiers into her view. It didn't take long for her to come up with the answer to the question. No. With that decided Hunter dropped the sword, slightly crouched, and exploded of the dirt floor of the warehouse, leaving a large scorch mark where she'd been standing. She busted through the roof of the building out into the open air, leveled out, and took off.

Picking up and dusting herself off Dusk glared after the girl and snarled. "After her!" she ordered. "Don't let her get away!" With that she transformed to her Cybertronian mode and leapt into the air. Transforming mid-air into her alternate mode—a Eurofighter Typhoon—she flew out through the hole in the ceiling, the rest of her squad following after her.

Meanwhile, Hunter was panicking. She had no idea what to do, where she was, where to go, anything! Judging from the position of the sun it was sometime in the afternoon but what the heck did that mean? The afternoon of _**what day**_? How long had Philips been driving? She could be anywhere between Jasper and the Canadian border now! Hunter was literally all by herself and that terrified her.

Hearing the roar of jet engines, Hunter looked over her shoulder to see an entire squad of aircraft coming up behind her. She snarled. Turning her nose up, she shot up higher into the clouds above. At the moment she wished more than anything that she had the ability to fly itself and not the extension of pyrokenesis. It would've been so much easier to sneak away. Instead she had a blue fireball jetting out behind her to signal wherever she was at! And she could forget about hiding in the clouds: Heat and condensed ice crystals? Not a concealing mix.

For a while the jets sounded farther off, but then they sounded close again so Hunter looked back once more. Dang it! This time the sixteen-year-old dived, hard, steep, and fast only leveling out just above the top of a tree grove. That's when her nerves tingled. Hunter dove quickly to the left, just barely avoiding a missile, but the shockwaves from the explosion knocked her off course and the teen went wheeling through the air. "Ahhh!" The girl clipped the top branch of a tree—that was enough to drag her down. The teen went crashing down through the forest carving out a decent sized scar of broken and scorched trees and wreckage before finally skidding into the ground beneath a pile of pines.

"Everybody down!" Dusk ordered as she and her squadron circled the area. "Down, now!"

Down below, the pine pile began to move and shift and, slowly a torn up and bloody redhead pushed her way out from among the trunks. Moaning loudly, Hunter rolled down the pile and faceplanted into the ground, crying out in agony. Damn that hurt! The sixteen-year-old remained face down in the dirt and pine needles, quivering and biting her lip through the pain as her beaten and bruised body began healing itself. It seemed an eternity before she could finally move again without fear of being wracked with paralytic pain. Oh, it still hurt, but most of the worst damage was almost completely healed. With a groan, Hunter pushed herself up onto her knees and shakily stood up. Clutching at her left side she fell against the pine trunks with a hiss of pain. Her stomach gurgled. "Oh, scrap…" Doubling over, she noisily puked up three mouthfuls of her own energon and whatever little bit of digested food was left in her stomach before collapsing to sit on the ground beside the mess. The child wiped her lips and closed her eyes as she took slow deep breaths, allowing herself more time to heal. That felt better.

It was only a minute or two later when her sensitive hearing picked up voices and footsteps. Hunter opened her eyes as the adrenalin came back. Time to move. Forcing herself through the ache, the redhead got back up on her feet and started limping off as quickly as she could in the opposite direction of the sounds. By the time she made it ten feet into the trees the pain had lessened even more and she forced herself to run. She didn't look back.

Marching up to the tree pile, Dusk raised a hand and brushed it over the streaks of energon on the wood and rubbed it between her fingers. She looked down at the energon staining the ground and then the puddle of vomit. "She's definitely wounded," the woman declared, her gaze now following a slight energon trail that led off into the woods. "But with her healing ability she won't stay that way for long." She turned to face her squad. "Fan out and search to the west, every one of you," she ordered, pointing in the direction the trail went. "Even once she's healed she won't get very far—I want this girl in our custody within the next hour."

"Shouldn't we designate a brigade to the sky, Captain?" one of the soldiers asked. "In case she tries to fly off again?"

"Not necessary," Dusk replied with a shake of her head. "That missile I let off was a little present our Mistress gave to me before we left. It released a curse—a curse that wipes out the powers of any Hybrid that gets caught in its blast range. Once it sets in, the brat will practically be human."

* * *

Hunter was still running. She could hear them in the trees behind her—distant yes, but still too close for her comfort. She had to get out of here! The teen really wanted to take to the skies again, but there were too many trees around to make a clean takeoff. She'd take some of these trees down blasting out of here, make a ruckus, and they know exactly where she was and what she was doing. She needed some open space. Finally she came upon a break in the trees. It was small—barely constituting a clearing, but it was enough. Taking a running start, Hunter leapt into the air, pushing fire out of her soles once again, but the flames suddenly cut out. She crashed. "Oof!" The redhead remained laying on the ground in shock and confusion for a moment before standing back up. She tried again. She couldn't even get the flames out this times. Once more, the girl tried, but still nothing. What the heck was going on? Then Hunter looked at her hands to see that her palms were slightly scuffed and scraped. Those definitely weren't from her big crash—everything from that had been healed up already. These were fresh. She'd just gotten them now from this fall. But they were so little—shouldn't they have been healed up before she'd even noticed them? She wasn't healing, and her pyrokenesis had suddenly cut out…. Hunter quickly looked around and spotted a thick dead branch lying on the ground. She went to and picked it up. Taking it in her hands, the teen tried as hard as she could to break it… but it wouldn't so much as crack. The redhead's sapphire blue eyes widened in horror. Her powers… _**they were gone**_! But how…?

Hunter shook her head. She didn't have to ponder about and come up with a solution for that right now. She'd barely had time to waste before, and now that she didn't have her powers she definitely didn't have time to spare: She had to keep running. With that, Hunter turned in another direction (it wasn't a good idea to keep running the same way) and started moving again, disappearing back into the trees and brush. However, she knew this couldn't go on forever. They were keep searching until they finally found her and if she had been unable to fight them off before, there was no way she was going to be able to do it now. She was lost, alone, powerless—she needed help! But she was in the middle of nowhere! Where the heck was she supposed to find help?

That's when Hunter once again became aware of the phone in her pocket. Her phone! She could call the base, let them know what was going on, get back up! Only slowing up her stride, the teenager pulled the device out of her pocket—somehow it had miraculously remained undamaged in the crash—and checked the signal. One bar. Calling wouldn't work, but it was enough to text! But who to text? All of her friends would most likely be at school so they wouldn't be any help. Will and Epps would probably be out of range. Sarah was a definite no: she was pregnant and Hunter didn't want her freaking out. Atlas didn't have a phone. That only left one person and the girl could only pray to God that he wasn't on a quote-unquote "intensive training retreat". Finding him in her contacts, the redhead added him to her texting list and quickly began to type out the message.

* * *

The Pentagon;

Groaning, Fowler leaned back from his computer and rubbed his eyes. Time for a break from staring at the computer screen and right on time too; he could smell the fresh brewed pot of coffee down the hall. The agent stretched and swiveled his chair around. He was just about ready to stand when all of a sudden his phone chimed. Fowler picked it up and raised an eyebrow as he read the contact name. Hunter? What was she doing texting him? She never texted him. Or called him. In fact she just basically tried to avoid him as just as she could, and he did the same in return: It was the only way they could maintain their "amicable acquaintanceship" status. The government agent opened the text. Now he was even more bewildered. "SOS?" he murmured. What was this? Some kind of joke? He texted back.

* * *

Hunter's phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down to see that Fowler had replied back. Thank Primus! She opened the text and read the reply—a simple question mark. Trying to text and see where she was going, the teen replied, "Not joke." Send.

A moment later: ~_What's wrong?_~

Hunter responded: ~_Adpt. fke! Bng hntd! No pwrs! Need bck up ASAP!_~

~_Why don't you have powers and where are you?_~

~_IDK_~

~_Have you contacted the base?_~

~_Brly srvce. U hve 2._~

~_Will do. Don't worry, kid._~

~_Plz hrry!_~

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

"So I take it that's all the information you have for me then?" Atlas questioned the Prime. As Hunter's substitute mentor in all things Hybrid/Fuser, the mech had taken it upon himself to gain all the new information that had come out of the situation of Hunter's adoption. No, she wasn't going to living with the Autobots anymore, but she was still the Fuser. She still had to train and learn and ultimately fulfill her destiny when the time came. Until Greasy came back, it was Atlas' responsibility to make sure everything was moved around and settled. He took that responsibility seriously.

With a heavy sigh, Optimus slowly nodded. "Yes," he answered the doctor's question. "I believe it is." Despite his best efforts, the Prime just couldn't bring himself to pull his gaze up off the floor or hold his head up. He didn't have the strength. His sparked ached so much the mech wouldn't have been surprised to find out that it was in actuality broken. And he wouldn't have cared much either. His spark-daughter was gone—what was there to care about anymore?

Atlas couldn't help but gaze sympathetically at the Purebred. He could only imagine what the Autobot commander was going through—it would kill him outright if he had to be separated from his own children in the way Optimus was. Atlas felt he should say or do something to buoy the 'bot's spirits… but what could he possibly say or do? Coming from a father's perspective, he knew that there would be nothing to ever ease that pain, except bringing Hunter back. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So Atlas did the one thing he could think of: He placed an empathetic, brotherly servo on the Prime's shoulder plating and gently squeezed. "I'm terribly sorry it didn't work out, Optimus," he murmured. It was the only thing he could think of to say.

"As am I, Atlas," Optimus just barely whispered. "As am I."

All at once, the tone for the base's communication system beeped out and an icon of Agent Fowler's face appeared on one of the computer screens. /_**Prime**_,/ Fowler's voice clipped out over the frequency urgently, /_**we've got a code red!**_/

Polishing one of his infamous wrenches, Ratchet came out of the lab to join Optimus and Atlas.

"What is the trouble, Agent Fowler?" Optimus questioned, somehow managing to pull himself out of his slump and sound like his usual, authoritative, confident, strong self. It wasn't an easy task.

/_**I just had a conversation with Hunter,**_/ the government agent reported. /_**She texted me 'SOS' and from the sounds of it, it's a big one at that.**_/

That certainly grabbed Optimus' resolute attention, along with that of both Ratchet and Atlas. "What do you mean?" the Prime demanded almost dangerously. "What SOS? What is the problem?"

/_**She didn't get into specifics, but what I got out of the texts she sent it sounds like she's powerless and bein' hunted down. Said she barely has cell service—that's why I'm callin' you.**_/

Optimus could've sworn his spark froze. Hunter was out there somewhere, all alone, powerless, and being Hunted down?! Why hadn't he sensed anything through their link?! The question weighed heavily on the Prime's processor (along with about a hundred other questions and worries) but he forced himself to push it aside and focus on the task at hand. He could figure that out later. Right now he needed to find Hunter and get to her side as quickly as possible. "Agent Fowler," he replied, "tell Hunter to hold on and we will contact her from our end."

/_**On it, Prime**__._/ And with that the call ended.

Prime turned towards Ratchet. "Ratchet," he ordered, "bring up the frequency for Hunter's cellphone. Hurry!"

* * *

Hunter's phone buzzed in her hand and she glanced down to see another message from Fowler. Opening it she read: ~_Prime's working on contacting you now. Hang in there, Hunt._~ The message couldn't have been more correct. It wasn't a three seconds later that her phone buzzed again, and this time it was an incoming call. The sixteen-year-old quickly answered it. "Dad?" she panted, unable to keep some of the terror out of her voice.

/_**Hunter!**_/ Optimus' comforting and welcome voice greeted her. /_**What's going on? What's happened?**_/

"It was a lie," Hunter answered. "Everything was a lie: the adoption, Jacobs—his name isn't even 'Jacobs' it's '_**Philips**_' for Primus' sakes! I wouldn't even be surprised to find out if this so call Aunt and Uncle of mine don't even exist either."

/_**What happened?**_/

"Philips and I were on the interstate leaving Nevada when suddenly he blows a tire and pulls over to a gas station to change it. He asks me to help him and when I go to pull the spare out of the trunk he whacks me across the back with the jack handle. I get pissed and go at him then he throws some sort of dust in my face: the next thing I know I'm waking up in the trunk with chains wrapped around me. When I break out I'm surrounded by a whole squad of soldiers wearing the same symbol as the ones that came to Olympus High."

/_**Where are you now?**_/

"I don't know! I have no idea where I am—all I know is I'm in some kinda never-ending forest." Hunter gulped and a dry sob escaped her before she could stop it. "Daddy, I don't have my powers and I'm alone and scared!"

/_**I know**_,/ the spark-break was clear in Optimus' voice. /_**I know, Sweet-spark, and I am so sorry.**_/

"Dad, I wanna come home!"

/_**I know, Sparkling, I know. We are working on triangulating your position now—just keep moving and do not hang up. I will come for you, I promise.**_/

Hunter nodded. "Yes, sir."

/_**Are you able to transform?**_/

"No idea, but I'm willing to risk finding out. I'm a smaller target in organ—ahhh!" Hunter was suddenly tackled and she found herself locked in a very one-sided wrestling match rolling down a small incline. Her phone—Optimus screaming asking what was wrong over the open line—went flying out of her hand and collided with a nearby rock with enough force to knock the battery out of it.

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

/_**… I'm a smaller target in organ—ahhh!**_/ Hunter screamed unexpectedly.

Optimus jumped closer to the comm.-system, instinctively trying to go to Hunter in order to protect her. "Hunter!" he bellowed. "Hunter, Sweet-spark, talk to me, please! What is going on there?! Hunter!" The call suddenly disconnected.

For a long moment all the three mechs could do was stand there in utter shock and silence and the computer screen. Then Optimus quickly turned to Ratchet. "Get her back!" he ordered, desperation and horror in his sky blue optics. "Ratchet, get her back on the phone! _**Now**_!"

* * *

Fighting back with all her strength (which now was only about as much as an average human possessed), the teen tried to fend off her attacker. It was almost completely hopeless. While relatively her height, he was at least twice her weight without the armor on; plus he was absolutely stronger than she was at the moment. He had her outmatched and pinned. "Let. Me. Go!" Hunter howled, trying to shove him off her middle. "Ahhh!"

"Not so tough now, huh?" the man rumbled, pinning her hands above her head with one of his. "What are you without your powers, huh? Huh?!" He smacked her hard across the face.

"Ugh!" Hunter's eyes stung with involuntary tears.

"What are you?!" He slapped her again.

"Ahh!" Hunter shook her head, trying to clear it. The world was spinning in painful white stars around her.

"Nox was my cousin," the older Hybrid growled. "We were practically brothers."

"Really?" Hunter panted opening her eyes and smirking up at him through the tears. "Well that explains it then; Nox was a blowhard moron, too." She really should have kept her mouth shut—she would have made things for herself so much easier and a lot less painful if she had. But the redhead just couldn't help herself.

Even behind his mask, Hunter could see her attacker's scowl deepen. "You smart-mouthed shrew," he hissed. He smacked the girl across the kisser again, causing her to yelp.

"Actually that's kind of an insult to you," the girl suddenly admitted. "Nox thought it'd be smart to take me on at full strength and when I had somebody helping me—you were smart enough to go after me when I have no powers and no back up. Of course, on the other hand, that _**does**_ make you a complete wuss."

"That's it," the man spat, almost shaking with fury. "That's it—I've heard enough!" He lurched to his feet and, seizing Hunter by the hair, yanked her up off the ground. "Get up. Get up!"

"Let go!" Hunter shrieked. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up off the ground, and she struggled for all she was worth. "Let me go!" She slammed her fists against his forearms, trying to force him to let go.

"The Mistress wants you brought back," her attacker snarled in her ear, "but she never said in what condition. Huh!" He threw the child up against a tree, ripping a scream from her lips, and stormed towards her to pull her off of the ground again. "You killed my brother. Hrah!" He threw her against a boulder and went to her again. "Now it's my turn to kill you. Yah!" He slammed her down into the ground. Again he went to her, knelt down, and started to pick her up again, and that's when Hunter reacted.

Despite the pain of it, the girl released her razors and jabbed them into his spark-chamber, grabbing his armor to pull herself closer and drive her blades further in as she did so. Hunter met his goggled eyes. "Guess what?" she whispered raggedly. "Your brother tried to do the same thing." She shook her head. "It didn't work out for him either. Hmm!" She forced her attacker to roll off her and onto his backside while she sat on his middle, razors still embedded in his spark and eyes still locked with his. "Say 'hi' to Nox for me," she murmured. With that she retracted her claws and wobbly stood up. The redhead stumbled away a bit before turning and running up the incline practically on her hands and knees. She frantically searched for her phone. Finally finding it, she put the device back together and turned it on again only to see that there was no signal. "Damn it!" Hunter screamed. Tears of desperation came to her eyes. The sixteen-year-old felt so hopeless she wanted nothing more than to just break down into a snotty, crying mess right then and there. But that wasn't going to fly, and she knew it. Optimus and Ratchet were out there trying to find her, and for that to happen she had to keep moving. They'd call her again—she was sure of it—and she needed to be somewhere to answer that call when it finally came. Gathering up her will, Hunter began running again.

She didn't know how long she ran or how far, but Hunter was beyond winded when she finally stumbled into a wide, grassy clearing. Panting heavily, the teen looked up to see that there were five buildings on the other side of the open space. They looked very old—a few of them fallen in and nothing more but piles of boards—and appeared to be clustered together like some sort of town. A ghost town. Not a bad place to try and hide out until help finally arrived. Pushing away her weariness, Hunter forced herself up on her feet and began to run towards the buildings. After a quick examination of the buildings still standing, the redhead made her way a bit further into the trees and up a slight hill towards a two story house that was almost completely overgrown by weeds. She quickly bounded into the house, slamming the door behind her. Once inside, however, she forced herself to move more slowly. Any of these floorboards could give away at any moment, and, without her healing factor, she didn't want to get caught in that.

The teen retreated back into the shadows of the far corners of the house and all but collapsed to the dusty floor, trying to her breath back. Her phone suddenly vibrated and she answered. "Dad," she weazed.

/_**Hunter!**_/ Optimus sighed heavily in relief. /_**Thank the AllSpark! What happened?**_/

"I got tackled," the girl explained. "My phone went flying and the battery got knocked out. By the time I got back to it and put it back together I didn't have service anymore."

/_**Are you all right?**_/

"I'm tired," Hunter answered, "and sore, and bloody, and still seriously freaked out, but I think I'll be okay. I'll be even better when you get here."

/_**I will be there, Hunter, I promise. We're restarting the triangulation now. Keep the line open.**_/

"Okay," Hunter grunted, getting back to her feet. "I will." Movement out the far window caught the teenager's eye. Raising an eyebrow, she slowly crept towards the window, trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible. Once at the window, she pressed herself against the wall and carefully peeked out the pain. The energon froze in her veins and her stomach dropped in horror. "They're here," she gulped, backing away from the window.

/_**Hunter?**_/

The redhead frantically looked around the room, trying to decide what to do next. She was too tired to run anymore. If she tried to she wouldn't get far before they finally caught up to her, plus here she knew she had service so she wouldn't lose the call. Staying here was her only option. Finally Hunter's eyes lit on the stairs that led up to the second level of the house. It was barely half there and looked unstable—and who knew how stable the second floor was—but it was her best chance. Trying to move as quickly and quietly as she could, the teen, made for the stairs and carefully began scaling them. She was about half-way up the steps when one of them gave out. "Ahh!" The yelped escaped Hunter before she could stop it as she grabbed onto part of the banister.

/_**Hunter?! Hunter what is happening?**_/

Hauling herself up onto the stairs again, Hunter crawled the rest of the way up and then down the hall at the top. She opened the door to one of the rooms and went inside, quietly closing it behind her. Then she went to a corner of the room and curled up there, trying to hide in the shadows and be as small as she could. That's when she finally turned her attention back to her father. "Dad," she whispered, "you can't talk to me anymore."

/**_W_**_**hat?**_/

"I'm gonna leave the call open, but you can't talk to me. They'll hear you."

/_**Hunter…**_/

"Daddy… please get here soon." And with that, Hunter pulled the phone away from her ear and wrapped her hands around it, in order to muffle the sound of the Prime's worried voice coming over the speaker. She pressed herself against the wall, wishing more than anything she could melt into it, or at least blend into the color of it.

Minutes passed like hours before the sound of the door squeaking open downstairs came to Hunter ears. Then she heard footsteps. One set… two… three… four… five… Hunter finally stopped counting at ten. Biting her lip, the teen pressed a trembling hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet. Tears bit at her eyes and she tried to blink them away. Her spark was pounding so loudly in her chest she knew that they could hear it downstairs, but she couldn't make herself calm down to quiet it. She barely dared to breathe. Then she heard another set of footsteps enter the house, the floorboards creaking as the person stopped right within the door.

"Report?" the voice was Dusk's.

"No sign of her in here, Commander," a female voice answered.

"Have you checked everywhere?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"_**Both**_ floors?"

"Not upstairs, Ma'am," a man answered. "The stairway is so dilapidated we assumed the girl wouldn't risk trying to scale it."

"Hmm…." Dusk's footsteps came further into the house and further and further until suddenly they stopped.

Hunter completely froze. She knew Dusk was standing right below her; she could practically feel heat coming off the woman's body. The girl pressed her hand fisted around her phone closer to her spark, hoping that she could muffle the beat of it. Her ears strained to hear any sort of sound. A single drop of sweet rolled down her temple to her cheek, to her chin before dripping off and splashing on her bloody knuckles. The footsteps started again as Dusk moved further into the house below and Hunter relaxed a bit, thinking maybe she could actually get away after all. And that's when it happened. Large, sharp, red blade was suddenly thrust through the floor boards at the center of Hunter's room and raked through it. The action was enough to cause the weakened boards to collapse. The floor caved in, taking Hunter with it. "Ahhh-ugh!" Hunter faceplanted into the dust on the floor of the room below, the wind forced from her lungs.

/_**Hunter?!**_/ Optimus' voice scream over her cellphone, which was now lying half-way across the room. /_**Hunter, Sparkling, what is going on?! Hunter, answer me! HUNTER!**_/

Wheezing, Hunter slowly pushed herself up off her face and looked up to see Dusk standing right in front of her and over half her squad surrounding her. They were all looking at Hunter. For a long time nobody moved.

* * *

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

/_**DADDYYYY!**_/ Hunter's bone-chilling shriek rang out through the halls of the base.

Optimus tensed, looking ready to lunge, ready to rush headlong into danger to protect his daughter. But he couldn't. He couldn't go _**anywhere**_! He had no idea where she was yet—she could've easily been hundreds of miles away! It didn't matter how badly he wanted to, how badly he _**needed**_ to he couldn't rush to Hunter's side and help her. And it _**killed**_ him! Hunter needed him; she was screaming for him to save her and all he could do was stand there and listen to her peril and imagine what was happening to her and what would happen next. He'd never felt this helpless!

As the sounds of Hunter's screams and breaking boards and fighting carried on over the comm.-system, the Prime turned towards Ratchet, who was still trying to find Hunter's location. "Ratchet!"

"I can't trace it, Optimus!" Ratchet bellowed back, not looking away from the screen. "Something isn't allowing me to. All I've deduced is that Hunter is somewhere in the state of South Dakota, but I can't be specific as to where!"

Atlas suddenly jumped into action, rushing over to the console and actually shoving Ratchet away from it. "Let me!" he ordered. "I know a few tricks." His hands were flying over the controls and he tried to bypass whatever was scrambling the signal. "Come on…."

Optimus looked from Atlas and Ratchet back to the comm.-system. "Hunter!" he shouted. "Hunter, we are almost there! We'll find you! I promise I will find you and I will come for you! Do not give up—keep fighting!"

/_**DADDY! DADDY, HELP ME, PLEASE! PLEASE! STOP! NOOO!**_/

"I've almost got it!" Atlas cried.

"Let her go!" Optimsu screamed, practically throwing himself into the comm.-system. "**LET MY DAUGHTER GO!**"

/_**DAD, PLEASE!**_/

"Just a little bit longer!"

"**HUNTER!**"

/_**DADDY! AHHHHH! AHHhhh…**_/ Hunter's screams were suddenly quieted and the sound of struggling became less and less until it stopped altogether. Then the line went dead.

"Ahhhh, damn it!" Atlas howled, slamming a palm down on the console and breaking it.

"Atlas!" Ratchet bellowed with a snarl. "I needed that!"

For a long moment Optimus remained staring at the now blank computer screen in utter silence, optics three times their size, before slowly, sinking to his knees on the floor. Even then he continued to stare up at the screen. He was completely numb. He couldn't feel or hear or think of see anything except one idea that seemed to possess all of his senses at once. Hunter was taken.

* * *

Dusk stamped on the phone, crushing it beneath her boot and grinding it into the floor boards for good measure. Then she turned to Hunter, who was now being tightly held in the arms of one of her men, with his hand clamped over her mouth. A dark chuckle rumbled in Dusk's chest. "Daddy can't save you now, little girl," she murmured. Stepping away from the destroyed cellphone she came towards the child who was glaring at her even through her tears. However, despite the glare, the terror was evident in those stunning sapphire depths. "You're with the big dogs now!" The woman slammed her fist between Hunter's eyes.

* * *

**Confession #41:**

** The Leviathan chains are what I have officially named the chains that are made of that super strong metal that Hybrids can't break. I figured it'd be a fitting name. **

**Confession #42: **

** I'm a bit jealous of whoever got that motel room after Philips. They just got a totally awesome set of super strong, nearly indestructible chains **_**for free**_**. Do you have any idea how handy a set of those would be on a farm?!**

**Confession #43:**

** I truly have no idea where Fowler really works, y'all, but my best guess is the Pentagon. It only makes sense.**

**Confession #44:**

** To be perfectly honest, this story was inspire quite a bit by the movie 'Taken'. Seriously one of my favorite movies of all time.**

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	17. When the Rules Change

**Sorry this took me so long to update, you guys. (I know you're probably been waiting with bated breath. … At least I hope you have….) School's started back up for me and I have a job now too that admittedly has very good hours but does have a strong tendency of tiring me out. I get home from that and I kinda just wanna collapse on the couch and binge watch 'Justice League' on Netflix. And then the homework. *groans* Can somebody please explain to me why I have to take a speech class to graduate from college when I took/did speech for 2 ½ years in high school? **

**Anyway, here's the update! Please note that Optimus gets maybe… slightly out of character here? I know a lot of people will probably hate me for this, but all I can say is to me it makes sense because we're dealing with the fact that Hunter has been kidnapped. And I challenge anyone who has kids or younger siblings or even someone who's just happens to be a naturally protective person (like me) to not feel the way Optimus does here and not at least want to do what Optimus does and almost does. You don't mess with kids, people. You just don't do it. I will say however that I toned down Prime's darkness here. When I tried to write him as dark as I had it planned at first it just didn't feel at all natural. You're welcome.**

**So enjoy!**

**AllSpark Princess—Oh, Prime's still angry, but he's not as angry and dark as I was warning you guys about. But he's still fairly dark. And angry. Rightfully so.**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Todd Burns; _Changing Tides_

17

Ω Ubi partibus Rules Mutatio Ω

(When the Rules Change)

"Nooo!" With a horrified scream, Optimus bolted upright in his berth, coolant dripping from his faceplate and trickling down his armor. His chest plate heaved with heavy vents. Slowly the Prime began to calm down and realize that what he'd just witnessed and felt had been only a dream. But the hard truth was he had awoken from a nightmare only to come back into a living Hell. It had been a week and Hunter was still missing. The nightmare—watching Hunter be tortured and hearing her screams and her cries for him—had been bad enough, but not knowing where his daughter was or what was happening to her (for all he knew, what he'd witnessed in his dream could actually be happening to her) was far worse than anything he'd ever felt.

Probably what terrified Optimus the most was the fact that he couldn't feel Hunter. Ever since he'd awoken her dormant spark with his a little more than a year ago, he'd been able to sense Hunter no matter the distance between them through their spark-link. He could typically sense her location (or at least find it with ease) and, more importantly, he could feel her emotion and current state of health. But for reason beyond his comprehension, he couldn't anymore. It wasn't that the connection wasn't there—he could definitely still feel Hunter—but he knew that the sensation in their link wasn't real. It hadn't changed at all. It had stayed the same since the moment Hunter had gotten in the car and left: sad, pained, disappointed, and a bit numb. Of course, these weren't nice feelings anyway, but it didn't feel any worse than that—it still felt like Hunter was for most intents and purposes just fine when the Prime knew good and well that she wasn't. And as for trying to follow the link to see where it took him, it didn't go anywhere. He could feel definite distance, but whenever he moved, wherever he moved, however far he moved, it never changed. It stayed the same.

Why? Why did the spark-link never change? Why could he feel nothing else but that—why hadn't he been able to feel when she was in trouble? What had happened? And a bigger question yet: could Hunter feel him? Optimus hoped to Primus she could at least feel him—he hated to think of her trapped somewhere far away, alone, not being able to feel the reassurance he tried his hardest to send through their bond, even when he was anything but reassured himself. The Autobot's processor was a broken record. All he could think of and hear anymore were Hunter's screams and cries for him over the phone as she had tried her hardest to fight off her abductors. She had needed him. More than at any other time in her life she had needed him there beside her at the moment and he hadn't been there. He'd been hundreds of miles away from her, with little to no clue of where she was.

Optimus' logic told him it wasn't his fault—he couldn't have known—but his spark said differently, and he felt incredibly guilty because of it. It kept him up—forced him to stay awake. He'd used that to try his best to find Hunt. In the past days since her abduction he'd driven countless miles, day and night, trying to feel something in his spark that said he was getting closer. He'd stood before the computers for hours at a time trying to find some semblance of her energy signature even in the most remote location on this globe. Everything he'd done had come up dry. That only made him feel more guilty and that in turn on pushed him to try harder.

In all honest, this was the first time he'd powered down in days and only because Ratchet had forced him to get some rest while the rest of the team had promised to keep up the search. The Prime hadn't much cared how exhausted he was or his mental or physical—all he wanted was to find Hunter. He knew she needed him! But when everyone else had pointed out that he wouldn't be any good to anyone much less Hunter if he was dead on his feet, Optimus had reluctantly agreed to retire to his quarters and try to relax for a while.

And then the nightmares had come and now he was here, sitting in his berth with his head held helplessly in his hands because he could do nothing expect wonder and worry about Hunter. She was out there somewhere, needing him, wanting him, and he couldn't go to her! It tore him apart. Little by little, Optimus could feel his spark breaking into a million pieces, and it was getting harder and harder to try and hold it together. He had to find Hunter—he _**had**_ to!

"Ah, you're awake I see."

By all rights the Prime should have been startled by the sudden voice, but he was so exhausted and so drained in every possible way he couldn't find the strength to be so. Instead he tediously raised his weary head to see Atlas standing there in the open door of his room. "Yes," he stated, hanging his head again. "I find it difficult to recharge."

"I have no doubt," Atlas stated, his usual rapid-fire tongue seeming to have slowed down some. "I don't believe I'd be able to find the luxury of sleep myself if I were in your shoes… metaphorically speaking of course." When Optimus said nothing the Hybrid added. "Your medic instructed me to check in on you—he seems rather worried for you as does the rest of your team and the human children."

Optimus said nothing for a long time, but when he finally spoke again, his voice was strained and broken. "Why, Atlas?" he questioned so softly that had he been talking to anyone but a Hybrid he wouldn't have been heard.

Atlas could do nothing but stand there in confusion and stare at the Prime. He'd been asked a question, but how could he possible answer a question he didn't know the meaning to? "Why _**what**_, may I ask?"

"You know Hunter and I share a physical bond between our sparks," Optimus replied by way of answer. "We can sense each other—feel one another through it." He slowly looked up, faceplate twisted and riddled with excruciating, emotional pain. "So why then was I not able to sense Hunter's distress?" he finally asked. "Why couldn't I feel it? We would not be in this position now if I had: Hunter would not be missing—I could have gone to her had I been able to sense her. Why was I not able?"

Sighing heavily, Atlas scratched the back of his helm and leaned against the door frame. That wasn't an easy question. By all rights nothing should go wrong with a spark-link, especially when it was a strong and enduring as the one possessed by Optimus and Hunter. "TO be perfectly candid with you, Prime," he stated after a moment, "I'm not entirely sure." And that's when it hit him. "Unless…."

Optimus raised an optic-ridge in confusion. "Unless what, Atlas?"

"I have heard tales of a spark-link being tampered with in order to alter the information being sent through it," the good Doctor explained.

"Tampered with?" Optimus repeated, looking just as confused. "What do you mean?"

"Think of it as a wire-tap," Atlas simplified it. "You have a line—in this case the spark-link—that is shared between two beings—you and Huntress—that helps to relay information between the two of them. But then an outside force comes in and finds a way to tap into that line to gain the information as well or, in this case, change it."

Optimus brows furrowed deeply at this information. "You mean to say you believe that someone or something has found a way to alter the bond Hunter and I share so that I can no longer sense her as I could before?"

A sharp nod. "Precisely! Of course I never imagined such tales were true, I thought they were just that—tall tales—but I can't think of any other way to explain it. And I very much suspect that whoever altered your bond is the same person behind our dear Fuser's disappearance."

"I believe you are correct, Atlas," Optimus conceded with a nod. "But it still doesn't explain who these people are and why they did this."

"No," Atlas agreed glumly. "Unfortunately it does not."

/_**Prime!**_/ Fowler's voice suddenly rang out through the base. Now, in all reality Prime's berth room was the one that was the farthest from the main room of the base but that didn't seem to matter with Fowler's voice. It was one of those voices that carried—unhampered by walls or anything else that stood in its way. Normally that was a bad thing. Hearing Fowler's voice howling for him was enough to make the Prime literally cringe, curse under his breath, and disappear. But not today.

Quickly standing, the Prime all but streaked out of his room and down the hall, Atlas following closely behind. They both barreled into the main room of the base.

Ratchet was at the computer, speaking to Fowler over the com-link. "I'm afraid Optimus isn't available at the moment, Agent Fowler," he was reporting. "He's obtaining some much needed rest and…"

"Not anymore, old friend," Optimus cut him off.

Ratchet turned around with wide optics. "Optimus!" he exclaimed. "You shouldn't be up—you should be I power down: you need to rest."

"I can rest when Hunter is found, Ratchet," Optimus practically snapped. He turned his soul attention back to the com-link and Fowler's icon on the computer screen. "Agent Fowler, have you found anything?"

/_**Yeah, I have**_,/ Fowler answered over the com-link. /_**Took quite a bit of digging but I finally turned up some interesting facts. Your girl was right, Prime. This so called Trent Jacobs is actually named Cody Philips a con artist with a rap-sheet a mile long. Cody Philips is just one of his many aliases, though he's never played the roll of a Social Service worker before.**_/

"Have you discovered anything more?"

/_**Yeah, right before he showed up to play Social Service worker he'd just been taken to prison for grand larceny. He was awaiting sentencing but then someone posted bail. Musta been somebody pretty important too 'cuz his bail was just shy of a million dollars, and I can tell you it sure as Uncle Sam's beard tell ya it wasn't one of his family.**_/

"Then who?" Atlas questioned.

/_**Don't know. Bail was posted anonymously.**_/

"Well, that's certainly helpful," Ratchet mumbled sarcastically.

"Agent Fowler, have you discovered anything as to where we might possibly find this man?" Optimus asked. Cody Philips was the last person to see Hunter before she had disappeared and he had been the one to take her to wherever she'd been at the time of her abduction. The person who hired him had to have been the one who posted his bail. If they were going to get any solid clues at this point, they would have to come from Cody.

/_**He's a gambler,**_/ the answer came. /_**According to what I can find he's a regular in Vegas—he's always on the strip.**_/

"Then that is where we begin our search," Optimus declared. The Autobot commander then turned to Ratchet and questioned, "Where are the others?"

"Out on patrol," the medic answered.

"Bridge them all back." The scowl on the Prime's face deepened. "We are going to Las Vegas."

* * *

Hours later;

This was it. The last casino on the list of casinos that Philips frequented Fowler had sent them. If he wasn't in there, they were back to square one.

Optimus' holoform sat in the driver's seat of his vehicular mode and stared out the windshield at the building. A strange feeling lingered over his spark; a feeling that was a mixture of pain, fear, desperation, anger, and even vengeance. It was a dark sensation—something he wasn't used to… but he didn't care. In fact he had stopped caring about much of anything the moment he'd discovered the adoption story was a cover for Hunter's abduction. He'd stopped caring even less about much of anything when he realized that their spark-bond had been tapped and compromised to make it seem as though she was perfectly fine when she wasn't. And he wasn't going to care about much of anything until she was safely back in his arms.

Still staring at the casino doors, Optimus released a low, rumbling growl as he thought about what could possibly be behind those doors. This man they were searching for—this… _**Cody Philips**_—had played a part in taking her away from him. For the man's own sake he had better not have been in that building because if he was he was going to pay for what he had done. _**Dearly**_. The Prime would rip his aft apart. And once he was finished with Cody, he would go after anyone else who had been involved or was fool enough to stand in his way. He would teach them all that no one ever tampered with a Cybertronian's young, no matter the age. _**Especially**_ not a Prime's!

Without thinking, Optimus reached up and clutched at the wolf head necklace lying against his chest beneath his shirt, knowing that, somewhere out there, the other half was waiting to be reunited with it; that Hunter was waiting to be reunited with him. "_I'm coming, My Shooting Star_," he silently called out to her. "_I'm coming and I will find you. I promise._" With that, the Prime opened the door of his cab and his holoform stepped out into the night and began advancing towards the doors. Behind him, he heard the doors of his team's alternate modes open then slam shut and was aware of their presence as they followed closely behind him. "I realize that we are all here for the same cause," he stated, not stopping, or slowing down, or even looking back over his shoulder to address them all, "and that we all want the same outcome. However, I make one request."

"Just name it, O.P.," Epps replied, voicing the opinion of everyone. This was Optimus' battle more than it was anyone of theirs'—he deserved to choose how it would be carried out.

The Prime's holoform's face suddenly darkened to the point that it even would have made Megatron quiver in fear and he bared his teeth in a snarl. "I want Cody Philips first."

Walking through the doors and then pausing in the foyer, they all waited as Epps went up to the security guards to speak with them. "Hey, fellas," the man greeted the guards, "we're here lookin' for somebody." He took out his phone and pulled up a picture of Philips before holding it out to them to see. "You seen this guy come in here tonight?"

Both of the guards studied the picture before nodding. "Yep, he's here," one answered.

"Where?" Optimus rumbled, coming forward.

The guards raised their eyebrows a bit in surprise by how vicious this man sounded, but they answered him anyway. "Blackjack table, near the back."

Optimus nodded his thanks before immediately turning away and storming into the casino, the others following closely after him.

"Yeah," Epps remarked, patting one of the guards on the shoulder, "you might want to start gettin' people outta here, guys. It's about to storm. Seriously, start moving people out—you don't want them to be in here during this." Never had truer words been spoken.

"Cody Philips!" a thunderous voice boomed out through the casino.

The young brown-haired, brown-eyed man nearly jumped a mile out of his seat. He spun around to see a group of men and a woman helping the security guards clear out the casino. And in the midst of all the exiting and not-too-happy people standing right before him was a tall, muscular man with thick black hair, a mustache, and freakishly blue eyes glowering right at him as though he could smote him with fire and brimstone. After a moment he recognized the figure. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I know you! You're…."

"Yes, I am," Optimus quickly cut him off, coming closer to the Blackjack table. He made his way around to the opposite side of the table, picking up Cody's cards as he went by and leafing through them. He tried not to think of all the memories of all the card games Hunter had taught and played with him, poker being one of them. Sitting down in a chair across from Cody, Optimus continued to flip through the cards, shaking his head and tsking his tongue. "You do not seem to have a very noteworthy hand here, son," he remarked, shaking his head. The disguised Cybertronian looked up at the young man and neatly stacked the cards. "In fact I would say that you're…" he tore the cards in half and let them drop to the table top again, "… out of luck."

With one eyebrow raised, Cody stared at the ripped cards before looking back up to see Optimus standing, massive hands splayed on the table on either side of him and supporting all of his weight as he leaned across the table to where he was at near eye level with him. "What are you doing here?" Philips finally asked.

The ghost of a smile just graced the holoform's lips even as something dangerous gleamed in his eyes. "I've come here to inquire something of you," Optimus replied, voice still pleasant sounding for the moment.

"What's that?"

All at once, the Prime's entire demeanor changed. The mask of pleasantness immediately vanished and was replaced with a dark, foreboding shadow that seemed to loom over the entire room like a great thunderhead. An understated but vicious, primal rumble started deep within his massive chest. Though splayed flat on the tabletop, the holoform's hands seemed to grip onto the table with a stranglehold anyway. Team Prime, Epps, and Will exchanged glances, all knowing that look. All pit was about to break loose. Glaring threateningly into Cody's brown eyes with his own bright blue ones, Optimus leaned in a little bit closer and he growled with great restraint, "Where. Is. My daughter?"

For a long time Cody was quiet not quite sure of what to say. Finally he shook his head. "I-I don't know what you mean, man," he responded as passively as he could.

Optimus' glare hardened. "Do not lie to me, Philips," he hissed. "You have already lied to me and if you try to do it again it will not end well for you—I assure you."

"I don't know where she is," Philips stated adamantly.

"I told you to not lie to me."

"I'm not, man! I don't know where she is! Look, all I was supposed to do was get the brat and take her to a designated location so's my employers could pick her up and I could get my money. My role was done after that." The young man suddenly smirked and snorted as he shook his head. "Let me tell ya though, that girl of yours almost wasn't worth the trouble to get the money. I swear she was gonna kill me before I knocked her out with that sleeping dust stuff they gave me."

"Maybe she should've," Lennox snarled under his breath. Epps nodded his agreement.

"The point is, man, I don't know where she is, so I got nothin' more to say to you. Now I was right in the middle of winnin' some big bucks before you came in and interrupted my game so make like a tree and leave!" The man turned back to look at his shredded cards, stared at them a moment, then shrugged and reached over to the spot next to him and picked up that hand. He whistled. This hand was even better than the one he previously had! He shuffled the cards around a bit and then paused, feeling an ominous presence right next to him. Slowly he looked up to see Optimus standing right over the top of him, eyes boring down into him He foolishly decided to glare back at the Cybertronian. "Hey, I already told you I don't know where your brat is. Screw off!" Philips was about to figure out how big of a moron he really was.

Optimus temper flared. As if deceiving them all by posing as a Social Service worker in order to take Hunter away wasn't bad enough, this deplorable excuse for a human being had the nerve to mouth off to him? He was not getting away with that! Without warning, Optimus reeled a leg back and swung it forward, vehemently kicking the stool out from underneath Cody. "Hrah!"

"Ahh!" Cody smacked his nose against the side of the blackjack table as he crashed to the floor. Cursing and screaming in agony, the young man held his gushing nose and curled into the fetal position. "My nose! My nose!" He glared up at the towering holoform. "The hell is your problem, man?!"

"I have numerous problems," Optimus snarled, "many of which occupy my thoughts constantly. But one that I never suspected to be one of these is the fact of my daughter being stolen away from me. And unfortunately for you, Cody Philips, you are very much a central part of that problem." The Prime reached down, seized the man by the front of his shirt, and slammed him back against the Blackjack table bending him over it and getting in his face. "I am going to ask you once more," he rumbled. "Where is my daughter?!"

"I don't know! I swear on my grandma's grave I don't know!" Philips was really starting to get scared now.

"If you do not know where she is then where did you take her? Where was your rendezvous?!" Optimus quickly shook him, causing Philips to slam the back of his head against the table.

"Ah! Fuck! Man, I can't tell you! The people who hired me said they'd kill me if they found out I ever talked. I'm too young to die, man!"

Optimus fell silent for a moment, processing this. Then without warning he jerked Philips up so that he was standing and began dragging him towards the exit, ignoring the young man's struggling and pleas to let him go, as well as the shocked expressions from Epps, Lennox, and his team. Dragging Cody out of the casino and over to his semi-truck form and forced him into the cab. He slammed the door behind him.

"Hey!" Philips hit the floorboards of the truck with a heavy thud. Getting up as quickly as he could, the con artist lunged back towards the door only to find it locked. He started panicking. The young man desperately pawed and grabbed at the lock in an attempt to unlock it. It didn't work. He then tried forcing the door open, first with his shoulder, and when that didn't work, his feet. The door wouldn't budge. Then he tried breaking out the window. That was even less effective. Panting heavily and beads of sweat rolling down his head, Cody started hyperventilating. This wasn't good. This really, really, really, really, really, really, _**really**_ wasn't good! Suddenly a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Yi!" Philips yelped and jumped in his seat before he was forced back into it. Wide-eyed he looked over to see Optimus' holoform in the driver's seat. He gulped.

"I highly suggest you buckle in," Prime informed the man darkly. "I need you in speaking condition when we arrive and with the mood I am currently in I do not believe this will be a smooth ride." And with that the Prime threw it into reverse, whipped out of the parking space, and peeled out of the parking lot. Everyone else make it out of the casino just in time to see Optimus' rear lights disappear down the street.

"Come on, let's go!" Lennox exclaimed, running towards Bulkhead's alternate form. "We gotta make sure Prime doesn't do anything he'll regret later!"

"You don't think Big 'Bot actually do anything… un-Prime-like do ya, Will?" Epps questioned with great concern as both he and Will buckled themselves into Bulkhead's seats.

"I honestly don't know, Epps," Will sighed heavily. "I can only imagine what I'd do if I was in Prime's shoes and…. If Philips took Annabelle away from me like he took Hunter from Prime I can honestly say I'd be sitting on death row."

* * *

Cody could do nothing but sit silent and motionless in the seat. Occasionally he'd peek over at Optimus out of the corner of his eye, but the moment the Prime looked in his direction he'd immediately look away again. He didn't want to do anything to set this guy off more than he already had. As it was Philips was waiting to be thrown through the windshield, run over, backed up over, and run over again. Luckily that didn't happen. However, it wouldn't be long before Cody would actually be wishing that had happened.

Trying to avoid as much of the traffic as he could, Optimus drove practically to the other side of Las Vegas before he finally came upon an overpass that was under construction. Ignoring the signs, lights, and cones he blew right through them and up to the top of the arch before parking. That's when he finally unlocked his doors. His holoform reached over, seized Philips by the sleeve of his jacket, and pulled him out of the passenger seat, across the center console of his cab, and out the door to the ground.

"Ugh!" Cody hit the pavement and laid there, too afraid to get up. Slowly raising his head, he looked up with horror-filled eyes at the very large and very pissed off man standing over him. "H-Hey," he gulped. Voice quivering, "d-don't kill me, man! Don't kill me!"

Optimus said nothing, which only scared Philips more. His already boarder-line murderous glare deepened and the Prime quickly snatched up one of Cody's ankles and started to drag him towards the edge of the construction site. Not hesitating, the Prime quickly whipped the young man out over the edge and dangled him there.

Cody screamed, eyes locked on the freeway teeming with cars quite a distance below them. Flailing his arms around, the young man tried to find something to grab onto, but nothing was close enough and he didn't have enough strength to reach up and snag the arm holding him in mid-air. "Come on, man!" he shrieked. "Come on, man, don't do this! Please don't do this! Please!"

"Now I have had it up to here!" Optimus declared, baring his teeth. "Enough with the lies! Enough with the attitude and resistance! I do not care what the people who hired you warned you of—you listen to what I have to say. Tell me what I want to know or you—as my daughter would say—become pavement paint." To emphasize his point Optimus looked down towards the freeway and speeding cars below, swinging Cody a bit to further his point. His point made, Optimus lifted the young man up higher so that they could be eye-to-eye. "Now," he rumbled calmly but still tensely enough to signal that no b.s. would be tolerated, "let us try this again. "Where was the rendezvous point?"

"I already told you I can't tell you," Cody quivered. "They find out I talk, they'll kill me. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Optimus had briefly loosened his grip on the con artist's leg, allowing him to slide through his hand and drop a bit before snagging him back up again. It was enough to bring tears to Philips' eyes.

"I highly suggest you stop worrying about people who are not even here and start worrying about me considering I am the one holding you above a freeway," Optimus pointed out. "Where was the rendezvous point?"

"A-an old warehouse in South Dakota," Philips quivered out. "I-I don't have the coordinates for it on me right now, bu-but I can get 'em to you, man! I swear I can! I swear!"

Optimus nodded slowly. "Good. Now answer me this: who hired you?"

Philips eyes bulged out and his jaw locked shut in sheer horror. This guy was expecting him to give up the name of the woman who'd hired him?! He was already dead for telling him about the rendezvous point! How could he give up his employer.

Optimus' glare narrowed. "My arm seems to be growing tired," he commented almost innocently. Loosening his grip again, the Prime allowed Cody's ankle to slip further in his grasp.

"Ahh! Okay! Okay!" the con artist panted. "Luna! She said her name's Luna, but that's all I know about her I swear! That and the fact that she's got some kinda magic powers or somethin' like that, but that's it! I don't know anymore!"

"I believe you," Optimus murmured. "And now my final question."

"Aw, come on, dude, please! I don't have anything more to tell you! Please just put me down! Please?"

"When you tell me why," the Prime replied. It was at this point that the holoform's eyes began to glisten with the hint of tears. Optimus gritted his teeth to try and keep his emotions in check. "Why?" he repeated, voice hardly above a hoarse whisper. "Why did you agree to this? Why did you take my daughter away from me?"

"It… it wasn't personal, dude," Cody admitted softly, almost sheepishly. "It was just money and a get outta jail card, I swear."

Optimus growled deeply, his chest tightening in sheer rage. That reasoning almost made it worse than if it was personal! Hunter—his beautiful shooting star so full of life and love—had literally been nothing more than a dollar sign to this man—a piece of expensive merchandise. Cody had basically sold her for a dollar amount! Was that all her life was worth? The Prime understood that Philips wouldn't feel as strongly towards Hunter as he did himself and wouldn't see her value in the same light or to the same extent but nevertheless Hunter was a living, breathing, sentient being! Did this man not have a single shred of common decency to not treat her like a cash cow?! Was he that perverse?!

Prime had never felt this angry in all his life. The idea of Philips stealing Hunter away and trading her for money burned him up inside so badly that it ached. The things he wanted to do to this man. The things he wanted to do to the people who had hired him for this! Optimus wasn't just angry, he was enraged, and he had absolutely no idea how to deal with it. It was so out of his nature and so frightening because of it. And yet, for the moment, it felt so right and natural, which in all reality made it even more terrifying. But no terrifying enough to stop the Prime from considering letting Cody go. It would be simple enough. All he'd have to do was loosen his grip just enough for the young man to slip through his fingers and watch him plummet towards the pavement and oncoming traffic below. It would be so quick. So easy. So satisfying.

"I could do it," the muttered word's passed Optimus lips before he knew what he was saying. "I could drop you right here."

Cody's eyes widened and he squeaked, "_**What?!**_"

"You stole my daughter from me," Optimus continued, his voice sounding dazed, as though he wasn't really there. "You stole her and sold her as if she was a commodity, and did you ever even think twice about it? Wonder what you were doing—what you were destroying?"

"Yes!" Cody shrieked, flailing around in desperation again. "Yes! Yes, I did okay?! I thought about it! I-I thought about it!"

"No you didn't!" Optimus snapped, voice accusatory. "If you had you would have realized just how revolting and immoral what you were doing was and you never would have gone through with it. But you didn't care! You looked at my daughter—my precious little girl—and all you saw was payment! Money! You didn't see the amazing miracle that she is—you didn't care!"

"Okay! Okay you're right! I didn't care, all right?! I didn't care! I just wanted the money, man, that's all—just the money! I'm a scumbag, okay? I'm a sleazy scumbag who deserves to rot in jail! Just _**please **_don't hurt me, man!"

"I would be in the right. I would be in every possible right to drop you here after what you did to Hunter."

"No! No, no, no! Come on, man, please don't do this! Please don't do this, man! Please!"

"I could do it," Optimus repeated, more to himself this time. "A part of me longs to do it." He held out Philips a bit more and slowly began to loosen his grip and let the screaming con artist slide through his fingers when he suddenly had the phantom sensation of a gentle but strong hand on his shoulder. The Prime knew whose hand it was: Hunter's. The Autobot felt a brief pang of guilt stab through his spark. "But it is not me," he whispered. "And it is not what Hunter would want." With that, Optimus turned away from the drop off and threw Philips to the ground.

"Oof! Ugh! Ack!" Philips rolled down the incline a ways before finally managing to stop himself. Still trembling, the young man groaned and slowly pushed himself up onto all fours. A boot stomped down right in front of him and he looked timidly up into the Prime' face once again. He gulped.

Kneeling down from his substantial holoform height, Optimus seized Cody's jaw in one hand and stuck his face in his. "Now," he rumbled, "about those coordinates."

* * *

By the time of rest of the team had managed to catch up with Optimus they saw Cody, who looked as white as a sheet, running as fast as his legs could go down the overpass and disappearing into the night. They pulled up just behind the Prime's idling alternate mode. A little further up the arch they could see Optimus' holoform spotlighted in the big rig's headlights. His back was to them and it didn't appear as though he'd be turning to acknowledge them anytime soon.

Undoing his seatbelt, Will slipped out of Bulkhead's cab. "You guys stay here," he told the others. "I think this needs to be a father-to-father situation." The others all voice various agreements and the man advanced up the overpass, coming to a standstill a few feet behind the catatonic holoform. "Prime?"

"I managed to acquire the information I was looking for," Optimus responded, still not looking back. "It took some negotiating, but I managed to make Philips talk."

"Great," Lennox praised. "Did this "negotiating" take form in the act of dangling the kid over the side there?" The Major motioned towards the drop off.

It was then Optimus looked back at Will with a questioning gaze. "How did…"

"'Cuz it's exactly what I woulda done," the man interrupted, already knowing the question. "But, knowin' me, I probably woulda dropped the bastard after he squealed."

A look of shame came over the Prime's face and he turned away again, gaze shifting down towards the pavement below. "I wanted to," he murmured, just loud enough to be heard. "I wanted to drop him so badly it hurt."

"So why didn't you?"

"Because it was not me. And if that weren't enough, it was not what Hunter would have wanted me to do. And despite the rage I feel, despite the longing for vengeance, I cannot allow myself to disappoint her." The Prime hung his head. "I feel… ashamed, Major," he confessed softly. "I feel ashamed that I feel this way: ashamed that I even considered harming a human being."

Sighing, Will came forward and placed a friendly, consoling hand on the holoform's shoulder. "Look, Optimus," he stated, "I've known you for a while now and I like to think we're pretty good friends. I know how you try to hold yourself above the common rabble—not because you think you're better than they are, but because you need to. You're a leader and you need to set an example. You've done a great job at this, and you've done a great job of not letting your emotions take control of you. But the truth is, Prime, you can only do that for so long before you finally have to give a little."

Optimus looked over at him. "What are you saying?"

"I'm not saying you have to—or even should—give in completely to what you're feeling," Lennox explained. "But you shouldn't beat yourself up for feeling this way. You're only… well, I can't really say "human" here can I? You're only conscious, Prime. You wouldn't be living if you didn't feel like this. And to be perfectly honest, right now you've got the best excuse in the book for feeling the way you do right now." The man's face suddenly became grave. "Optimus, I get where you're at. Annabelle is the most precious thing in the world to me; she's my princess. And if anybody took her from me I'd skin 'em alive and ask questions later. Optimus, Hunter is your kid, and when people screw with your kids the rules naturally change."

"So you do not believe that what I wanted to do to Philips was wrong then?"

"Not in the least bit. What was wrong was lettin' 'im run off before the rest of us could get here to rip him apart." A ploy of humor that didn't seem to do much.

Optimus looked away once more and the silence seeped in again before he turned back to meet Lennox's gaze. "He sold her, Will." The whisper was so full of pain and fury that you couldn't tell where one ended and one began. "Philips took Hunter from me and made money off of her. I realize he was paid to abduct her, but for all intents and purposes he sold her. He sold her!"

"Well there sure as hell better be a return policy in whatever contract he signed," Lennox rumbled. "'Cuz we're gettin' her back!"

"Yes," Optimus agreed, looking away again. His gaze traveled to his chest as he reached up and gently pressed a couple fingers to the wolf's head on his necklace. A fiery determination began to burn within the deepest parts of his spark. No matter what it took, no matter how long it took, no matter where it took him, Optimus was bringing Hunter home again. Even if he had to go through hell and back. "Yes we will."

* * *

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	18. So Close but so Far

**All right, guys, so here's the deal: after this chapter we're gonna go back in time a bit and see what happened to Hunter to get her to the point she's at, at the end of the chapter. We'll probably have a few chapters about that. Then we'll be all caught up on both story lines here and go back to Optimus and the team trying to hunt her down. Also—yay—new character introductions here! I know you were looking forward to this one, Alice! Sorry it took so long, guys.**

**WolfAssassin369—Yes, he scares me too.**

**Shadescribe—Agreed!**

**AllSpark Princess—It's finally here!**

**SunnySides—Righteous anger and righteous abuse are awesome!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

Jon Wright; _Determination_

18

Ω Sed Absit ut ItaΩ

(So Close but So Far)

Once again Optimus read the address that was scrawled across the piece of paper held within his holoform hand before looking up and reading the numbers nailed on the house beside the front door. This was definitely the address. The Prime sighed heavily and tried to calm himself as best he could. He had no idea what was going to happen here. When Atlas had suggested going to the address of the supposed Aunt and Uncle of Hunter to see if any clues could be found there as to the girl's whereabouts, the Prime hadn't been expecting much to come of it. He'd just assumed that the address had been a false ploy to make the adoption story seem more realistic. At best he had been suspecting to find an abandoned house or something of the sort. But he certainly wasn't expecting to find this: a nice, cheerful looking house nestled in the center of a bustling little Colorado town. It definitely wasn't deserted that was for sure. The recently painted siding, manicured lawn and shrubbery, and painstakingly kept flower beds attested to that. Plus there was a vehicle in the driveway.

If there were people living here, Optimus sincerely hoped that they were in fact Hunter's aunt and uncle, or at the very least Hybrids. He really didn't want to be walking up to the door of a human family and have to come up with some plausible explanation as to why he was knocking at their door. But he'd never know with any certainty who lived here if he just sat here all day. Sending out a silent prayer to Primus, the mech opened his door and allowed his holoform to step out into the light of day. He tucked the paper into a pocket of his jacket and strode across the street, opened and stepped through the little gate of the charming, white picket-fence, up the sidewalk and onto the porch. Then he knocked pressed the doorbell.

A cheery little tune of bells went off from inside the house, followed a few seconds later by the sound of feet coming to the door. For a moment Optimus had the sensation of someone staring at him through the peephole of the door before it finally opened to reveal a girl. She looked to be around Hunter's age—maybe a year older. "_She is related to Hunter_." The thought processed in Optimus' mind before he even realized he was thinking it. The Prime realized he was jumping the gun by making this conclusion, but there was no help for it and he knew he had to be right. There were so many similarities between this child and his Hunter. Although definitely not as tall as Hunter, the girl most assuredly had the same slender, athletic build and pale skin-tone. Her hair, while a lighter shade than Hunter's, was red, save a single streak that appeared to be dyed blonde. And what's more, the girl did indeed possess a necklace with a Hyrbid medallion around her neck. All at once, the Prime's hopes that the people living here were actually relatives of Hunter seemed to be correct.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow and looking the large man over with both caution and curiosity.

"Yes," Optimus answered with a nod. "I am looking for Eve and Cyrus Prescott—I was told they live here."

The girl turned away and called back into the house, "Mom, it's for you."

A moment later a blonde woman joined the girl and, pushing her daughter back behind her in a protective way, stood at the opening of the door. She looked Optimus up and down guardedly. "Can I help you?" she questioned.

For a moment Optimus was thrown off guard. The girl had been wearing a Hybrid medallion, and this woman, by all rights, should have been as well since she had to be the blood-relation to Hunter. (Assuming the tradition of Earthling females taking the name of their chosen male mate had been customarily followed in both this woman's and Comet Thunder's circumstances.) And yet here she was without one. It was possible that she simply wasn't wearing it—having forgotten to put it on or some such scenario—but in Prime's experience Hybrids very rarely removed their Hybrid necklaces. It was the only way they could transform, and because you never knew when you might possibly need to do that it was always just better to wear the medallion all the time. Greasy always wore his, as did Atlas, and—save that one time—Hunter. Even the few children from Hunter's school he had met had bared the necklaces proudly about their necks, as well as the girl here. So why wasn't this woman wearing one? "Are you Eve Prescott?" the Autobot finally asked, shaking off his shock.

The woman shifted a little apprehensively and instinctively tightened her fist at her side as she nodded. "I am," she answered. She looked the Prime over again. "But who are you? And why are you here?"

"My name is Optimus Prime," the mech answered, "and I am here to speak to both you and your husband, if it is at all convenient."

"I speak for both my husband and myself when I say that we're not interested in whatever you're selling. I'm sorry, and good day." Eve began to close the door.

Optimus reached out and braced his hand against the door to stop it. "No, wait, please!" he couldn't help the desperateness that resonated in his voice. Maybe that was a good thing; Eve immediately paused and looked at him again, this time with more curiosity than wariness. "Please," the Prime repeated, "I-I am not trying to sell anything—I only ask for your help. You see… I am not human. I am from the planet, Cybertron: I know you must know of it, despite the fact that you wear no Hybrid medallion. I am a Purebred, but I mean you no ill will—I only wish to speak to you and your mate. Please," he added when he saw the hesitance in her face.

For a long moment Ever simply stood there in the half-closed door, staring into the Prime's eyes trying to see his real intentions—trying to see if he was really telling the truth or not. She could see that he was. That desperateness in his eyes was far too authentic to be anything but completely genuine. Finally she sighed and turned to address her daughter. "Ally," she murmured, "go and bring your father in out of the garden, please."

"Sure, Mom," the teen said with a nod as she turned to leave.

Eve turned back to face Optimus again and opened the door wide. "Come in," she invited him with a gesture of her hand.

"Thank you," Optimus replied as he stepped through the door.

"Nice holoform, by the way." Optimus gave her a surprised look and she explained, "I've never actually seen a holoform—or a Purebed for that matter—but I've definitely heard about them and know what they are. Please, come in and have a seat. Cyrus shouldn't be too long."

And she was right. No sooner had Optimus' holoform sat in a chair and made itself comfortable than Cyrus came into the room, followed by Ally. "Hello," Cyrus greeted the Prime extending his hand, "I'm Cyrus Prescott."

Optimus quickly stood and took his offered hand, shaking it. "Optimus Prime."

"I hear you wish to speak with my wife and I," Cyrus stated, moving over to sit beside his wife on the loveseat that faced catawampus to the chair Optimus had taken up, "and to be perfectly honest with you, that rather confuses me: We don't know you and you're a Purebred. So, pray tell, what exactly does a strange Purebred such as yourself want with us?" There wasn't exactly condescension on the man's voice or hostility, just guardedness as well as genuine curiosity.

"Ally," Eve addressed the teenager before the question could be answered, "why don't you go upstairs and finish your homework?"

"I've finished it, Mom," Ally answered, the tone in her voice clearly describing her desire to stay and be a part of the conversation.

"You could double-check it," Cyrus suggested, turning to his daughter as well.

"But I…" Ally began to protest.

"Please, Sweetheart?" Eve interrupted her, raising her eyebrows in a way that meant what they were asking of her wasn't a suggestion and needed to be done.

Optimus cocked an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes as he looked back and forth between the adults and the girl. Strange. There was unmistakable tension in that dynamic, and while unpleasant, it seemed to be borne out of genuine love and desire to protect the child, though she obviously felt she didn't need such a thing. But why? What were Eve and Cyrus trying to protect Ally from? What was the secret of this family? There obviously was one—that was plain as day.

Ally drew her lips together in a thin line and went rigid, fisting her hands. A fire kindled in her exotic, two-toned eyes and for a moment it looked as though she was going to stand her ground and demand to be allowed in the conversation. But she ultimately backed down. Sighing dejectedly, the girl's posture went slack and she hung her head. "Right," she begrudgingly agreed. "I could double-check it. I probably should anyway." With that she turned to leave. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Prime," she addressed the Purebred as she left.

"The pleasure was mine, Ally," Optimus replied with a bow of his head and a warm smile that made the girl smile in turn.

The adults watched on after the girl until she had disappeared up the stairs before turning back to one another.

"I came to ask for your help," Optimus answered the previous question that had been presented to him.

"What can we help you with?" Cyrus inquired, settling in and his wife beside him.

"Well… you see… I…" the Prime sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, not quite sure how to explain it all. "I suppose I should start with the fact that ties us together," he finally decided. He then looked both Hybrid's in the eye and stated, "As I have told you, my name is Optimus Prime. I am the _**last**_ of the Prime's and… well… I am the spark-father to the Fuser. She is missing."

Eve and Cyrus were quiet for a long time as they simply stared at the Prime before looking at each other in confusion. "We're very sorry to hear that," Eve assured the Purebred after a moment, "and you have our condolences, but…

"How exactly does this tie us together?" Cyrus finished for her.

Now it was Optimus' turn to sit and stare in confusion. "You… are the relatives of Comet Thunder James, are you not?" he asked.

"Comet Thunder is my brother, yes," Eve answered with a nod. "But what does this have to do with him?"

"The Fuser—Huntress Starstreaker James—is his daughter. My spark-daughter is your niece." The Prime was more than a little surprised to see the looks of complete shock on the faces of the couple. "You… were unaware of this?" he murmured.

"I haven't seen or heard from my younger brother in… years," Eve confessed apologetically. "The last time we communicated was when he announced to our family that he was engaged to be married. I never even knew the date of the wedding let alone the fact that he had a child." A worried expression came over the woman's face and she leaned forward anxiously. "Is my brother all right? Why isn't he here to speak to us himself? Is he out looking for Huntress?"

A sorrowful look shadowed Optimus' holoforms face as he suddenly realized that not only did Eve not know about Hunter, she didn't know about Comet's fate either. "I am sorry," he answered softly. "He was killed some time ago."

For a moment Eve looked surprised, then confused, before finally realization and pain set in. "Oh…." She slowly sank back into the loveseat. "I-I had… no…." Biting her lip she buried her face in her hands. Her little brother, dead? She'd always regretted not trying to reconnect with him after the rest of their family had severed ties with him, and now that guilt was just doubled.

Cyrus, gave his wife a sympathetic look and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to his side. He stroked her hair as she buried her face into his shoulder. "What about the woman Comet Thunder married?" he inquired, turning back to the Prime. "Is she…."

"I am afraid that Quinn has passed as well," Optimus remarked remorsefully. Being the bearer of bad news to this family wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he came here. "I am sorry." The Prime sat quietly for a moment, allowing them to process the information and come to grips with what had happened.

"You…" Eve croaked after a moment, sniffling slightly and quickly wiping her eyes, "… you said that our niece was missing."

"Yes," Optimus responded. "Hunter has been missing for about a week now. I came here in the hope that you might be able to supply me with information that might help us to find her."

"We can try," Cyrus offered sounding a bit doubtful. "How did you find us? How did you even come to know about us when we didn't even know about you or our niece?"

"I was given your names and address by a man that claimed to be with Child Services. You see I was in preparation of legally adopting Hunter as my daughter when a man claiming to be named Trent Jacobs arrived and informed us that that Hunter was to be adopted by her relatives."

"Us," Cyrus concluded.

Optimus nodded.

"We've never applied to adopt anyone, let alone our niece," Eve stated. "How could we when we didn't even know she existed?"

"We realized that," Optimus remarked, "but by then it was too late. Hunter was abducted and we were helpless to stop it. That is why I'm here now." He looked intently into the faces of the Hybrid couple, silently pleading with them for their help. "To be honest I had doubts that you existed, or that you were even who you were claimed to be, but now I realize that what we were told was not entirely a lie. And I can only hope that you can help me in any possible way. Do you have any idea who might be responsible for this?"

"Well, considering Hunter's the Fuser," Cyrus sighed, "I'd say it could be just about anyone. There are lots of characters out there who would love to have the kind of power she possesses at their disposal."

"You are correct," Optimus conceded with a nod, "but fortunately I do possess some evidence that could help us narrow our search." The Prime reached into a pocket of his holoform jacket and produced a picture. "Her abduction was not the first time Hunter had encountered this group," he proclaimed. "About two weeks before while she was at school she was attacked by a different group of Hybrids that bared the same symbol as those who abducted her." Reaching out he placed the photo on the coffee table and slid it towards the couple. "This is the symbol: two crescent moons—one red and one black—facing each other. Is it at all familiar to you?"

Eve and Cyrus had barely even looked at the picture before they answered, "Yes."

"You do."

Eve nodded in further confirmation. "I grew up under that symbol," she declared. "In fact we both did. It's the symbol of my mother's cult—The Lunation."

"Is it powerful?" Optimus questioned.

"Very," Cyrus answered. "In the past there have been confrontations with the cult and the Hybrid military. The Lunation has been able to hold its own against if not triumph over the military each time: The members of the cult are highly trained and capable warriors."

"Which is why I doubt The Lunation are the ones who took Hunter," Eve confessed, giving Optimus a regretful gaze.

"Why do you say that?" Optimus asked.

"With as powerful and dangerous as The Lunation is, I find it very hard to believe that it would take them two attempts to kidnap the Fuser, despite how powerful she is or the situation they were put in. And apart from that, there is great incentive for success. My mother does not… tolerate failure well. When my brother and I were children it wasn't uncommon for us to be punished severely for something as simple as a grammar mistake. If a squad of Field Acolytes was sent out to retrieve Hunter and returned empty-handed… well, let's just say that there are worse things than death."

"To be honest, I'm not sure many from the first ambush returned to your mother," Optimus stated. "Many of them were either killed or badly injured."

"Another reason The Lunation's involvement is doubtful," Cyrus commented. "The Fuser may have been able to take out a few, but an entire squad?"

"She did have assistance," Optimus remarked.

"Well, then the Field Acolytes have taken a great fall since my day as a member among them" Cyrus shook his head. "Field Acolytes don't fall, and they don't fail. They succeed by whatever means necessary."

"Even if the scenario seems unlikely, what of the symbol?" the Prime questioned. "You said yourself that it is the symbol of the cult. Is this not evidence enough to hold them accountable?"

"Yes and no," Eve sighed. "It's without a doubt the Lunation symbol, yes, but symbols can easily be imitated and used by others who are not in reality affiliated with those it comes from. The symbol could have been used by those who admire my mother's cult and want to be a part of it. Or even by those who wish to falsely accuse The Lunation of this crime."

"But the magic…" Optimus began.

"Is not exclusive to the members of The Lunation," Cyrus interrupted him. "Magic is as much a recognized power among our race as anything else. The Hybrids who decide to join the cult naturally have the ability—it's a requirement to join: magic is not bestowed upon them _**when**_ they join."

Optimus cursed to himself. The evidence they had before them right now seemed sufficient enough to place the blame of Hunter's abduction on The Lunation, and he couldn't see how anyone else would be able to sincerely doubt it, yet Eve and Cyrus were determined that this was the doing of the cult. And it didn't seem as though they were trying to cover for The Lunation either; they genuinely seemed certain that Hunter's abduction had been carried out by someone else. But who else could it possibly be? What other evidence did he possess to prove that this was, in fact, The Lunation's doing? That's when he remembered. "Luna," he announced the name, watching both Eve's and Cyrus' faces carefully as he said it. "The man that was hired to deliver Hunter to her abductors said that the woman who had hired him was named 'Luna'." He watched as the two of them shared a look before asking, "That is your mother's name, isn't it?" The Prime already knew he was correct.

"It's a common name," Eve stated. "Lots of Hybrid's have that name, not to mention humans as well."

"But it _**is**_ your mother's name," Optimus declared. "And the symbol these Hybrids bared is that of her cult. That seems to be condemning proof of her hand in all of this."

The Hybrid female sighed heavily and shook her blonde head in denial. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I truly am sorry, but I just don't believe that this was my mother's doing."

"And why is that?"

Eve gave the Autobot a hard look as she pressed her lips together in a determined line. "Because my mother is no longer on this planet," she proclaimed. "She was banished from Earth five years ago by the King and Hybrid Council: for what reason I don't know and I don't much care to know. And she took our son with her; she brainwashed and stole him from us! Just as she does with almost every other poor, unfortunate soul that's gullible enough to join her ranks and believe her lies. I have avoided my mother for many years now, Mr. Prime. I don't have any sort of affinity for her and I don't much enjoy discussing her.

"You asked if we might have any idea who abducted Hunter and I don't believe we do. Perhaps the evidence points to my mother but with every fiber of my being I don't believe for a minute that she was the one behind this. How could she be? With any luck she's lost in space somewhere, far away from this planet and never coming back."

"And what if you're wrong?" Optimus challenged, returning the woman's hard gaze. "What if it is your mother who is behind this? What if she has returned?"

"I find it very hard to believe that she would," Eve snorted skeptically.

"But what if she has?" Optimus repeated the question slowly.

For a long moment Eve was silent, studying the Purebred's holoform as she tried to get her temper under control. All this talk of her mother, and the implication that she might actually be back on Earth's surface, had put the woman on edge. "If she has returned to Earth," Eve forced out slowly, trying to keep he self in check, "then I sincerely hope that when you said 'goodbye' to your spark-daughter you made sure to tell her how much you loved her, Optimus Prime. Because mark my words when I say that you will _**never**_ see her again."

"Thank you very much for speaking with me," Optimus replied as he walked out the front door of the Prescott's home. He turned to face Cyrus once more and shake his hand.

"I only wish we could have helped you find your spark-daughter," Cyrus sighed, a sympathetic look on his face.

"You continue to say "my spark-daughter"," Optimus pointed out, "and you are correct—Hunter is my spark-daughter—but she is your niece as well."

"Yeah… it's gonna take a while to wrap our heads around that."

"I suppose that is understandable. I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that Hunter indeed has living family."

"Do you really believe it was The Lunation that took her?" Cyrus questioned.

Optimus was quiet for a moment, once again going over all the evidence he had and the new information he'd just learned in his head. Then he nodded. "I do," he admitted. "Perhaps you're right; perhaps it is not the cult and it was in fact someone else trying to make it appear that way—but I must believe what the evidence and what my instincts tell me. It's all the hope I have."

"You actually think you can get Hunter back if it was the cult?" The Hybrid male sounded very skeptical.

"I have to try," came the response. "Hunter is my daughter—my little girl—whom I love more than I ever have anything or anyone else in the universe. She is out there somewhere alone, and she needs me. I promised I would always find her, and that is what I have to do. For her: for the universe: for everyone."

"Well, good luck to you, Optimus Prime. And Godspeed." With that the door closed and Optimus was left by his lonesome out on the front porch.

Sighing heavily, the Prime hung his head, shoved his hands in the jacket of his coat, turned, and began to recede down the sidewalk towards his truck form. He had just closed the yard gate when suddenly….

"_Mr. Prime?_"

Letting out a startled yelp and a Cybertronian swear, Optimus' holoform stumbled away from the gate and wheeled around, looking for the owner of the voice he'd just heard. Or… had he _**heard**_ it? Someone had indeed called his name but… the voice seemed to have been speaking directly to his… mind?

"_Mr. Prime, up here,_" the voice came again.

A little suspicious, Optimus cautiously looked up in the direction of the house until he saw Ally standing at her window, watching him through the glass. All he could so was stare in inquisitively. How on earth was she speaking to him from her current position?

"_Telepathy,_" the girl answered his non-verbal question, "_that's how I'm speaking to you from here. You can do the same—just think what you want to say and I can read it in your thoughts._"

"_You heard the conversation your parents and I had, did you not?_" Optimus thought out the inquiry, raising an eyebrow.

Ally nodded her head. "_I did._"

Optimus couldn't help the smirk that curled his holoform's lips. "_You eavesdropped_," it was an accusation, but it was most definitely an amused accusation.

Ally's cheeks suddenly flushed and she ducked her head sheepishly. "_No! I didn't eavesdrop! It's just… kinda hard to not hear conversations occurring in the same household when you're a Hybrid._"

Optimus audibly chuckled, shaking his head at the girl. That sounded just like something Hunter would do, though she would be more forward and upfront about it if she'd been caught.

"_Is… is it true?_" Ally suddenly questioned, looking back down at him and meeting his gaze. "_Do I really have a cousin?_"

Sighing, the Prime made a sorrowful nod.

"_And she's really in trouble?_"

"_Yes, Alchemy, she is._"

Ally was quiet for a moment and Optimus could see she was trying to wrap her head around this information and what was going on. Finally she met his eyes again. "_I think you're right_," she confessed. "_I think you're right that my grandmother is behind this, and I think I can help you._"

"_I would be very appreciative of any help you have to offer,_" Optimus replied, "_but I have no desire to put you in harm's way or to cause trouble between you and your family. They seem very adamant that this was not of your grand-creator's doing._"

"_Because they don't want to believe it—not that I can really blame them; Luna is seriously bad news. But because they don't wanna believe it they're blind. And they don't know what I know._"

Optimus gave her an interrogating look. "_And just what do you know, Alchemy?_"

"_Something big,_" the teen assured him. "_Really big. I have yet to actually confirm it and make sure I'm a hundred percent right, but I'm sure I am. Meet me tomorrow in Ruby Hill Park and we can talk then._"

"_All right. I will meet you there._" With that Optimus' holoform turned around and began heading for his truck again when Ally's voice called out to him again. Reaching his vehicular form and opening the door, the Prime stopped and turned to face the girl again.

"_Is my cousin… is Hunter really the Fuser?_"

"_Yes, Ally. She is._"

"_Then we need to hurry. Because my grandmother having that much power at her fingertips… it won't end well. For anyone, much less Hunter._"

* * *

The Lunar Estate;

Surrounded by a squad of security guards, Luna marched down the long, concrete hallway towards the large metal doors at the end. As they neared them the woman waved her hand and the door whooshed open, allowing them all inside. The guards stopped at the door as the sorceress continued on inside before finally coming to stop at the railing of the catwalk. She looked down. A room filled with computers and console and large glass cylindrical tanks and bustling with Hybrids lay below her. And standing in the center of it all, monitoring everything with a critical eye was her husband. "Are we ready, Ray?" she called down to her mate.

The large Hybrid male turned to meet his wife's gaze with a crooked smile. "We are," he stated with a nod. "The transition went smoothly and she's just about to wake from the previous sedative. Once she does, we'll put her into stasis."

Lunda smiled and nodded. "Good." Her gaze turned away from Ray and went up to the stasis tank situated in the very center of the room. It was full of liquid and inside it, firmly secured in place by large stabilizer attached to the bottom of the tank that encased her arms and legs up to the elbows and knees, with an oxygen mask concealing the lower half of her face, fiery red hair floating and swirling around about her, was Hunter.

For the moment she appeared to be asleep, but slowly that began to change. Her eyelids started twitching. Then her head began to move as she raised it ever so slowly. Finally her eyes fluttered open. She appeared to be dazed as she looked about her, but then the girl began to really wake up and recognize what was going on. Hunter's sapphire blue eyes went wild with fury and there was a muted sound that was an unmistakable roar of rage as she began to thrash and strain against her bonds trying to get loose. A flurry of bubbles rose up from the oxygen mask as her breath picked up and the sound of the heart monitor on one of the computers began to speed up wildly. Suddenly one of the stabilizers around Hunter's arms cracked.

"Now!" Ray bellowed.

One of the Hybrid's sitting at a computer slammed his fist down on a big red button and a quiet hiss was heard. The liquid in the stasis tank slowly began to turn a pale green as the anesthesia was released into it. For a while Hunter continued to thrash and strain, the crack in the stabilizer growing larger, but then slowly the sedative began to absorb through her skin and into her system and she started to slow down. Her straining became less. Her spark- and respiratory rates came down and evened out. She began to relax. Finally her eyes closed and she slumped in her restraints, only held up by the bubbling liquid surrounding her. Completely anesthetized. Another button was pushed and the stabilizers holding her in place loosened around her limbs and sank back down into the bottom of the tank and Hunter's limp body floated upwards a bit, suspended only by the liquid.

After a few checks of the monitors to be sure everything was doing what it was supposed to be doing, Ray turned back to his wife with a grin. "Stasis successful," he announced. "She won't be causing anymore trouble from here on out, my darling."

Eyes still on the sedated teenager, a twisted smile curled Luna's lips. "No," she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. "She won't be."

* * *

**REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!**


	19. In the Court of the Queen of Darkness

**My. Gosh! I've been gone forever! Don't worry, guys, I'm not dead, I just went on a long, extended space travel in search of wormholes that lead to alternate dimensions.**

…

**Kidding! I've been away for a number a things, writer's block and work are two of them. Another thing was the fact that I was hurt for a while. Not too badly, don't worry—and what happened I did to myself—but it left me aching badly enough that I kinda didn't want to do much except relax and sleep and not think when I wasn't supposed to be working. But I'm almost like new again! So I'm back! And so is Hunter! Yay!**

**Like I said, we're going back in time here. The last chapter was a week after Hunter's abduction—this chapter is within a few hours to a day after her abduction. The next few chapters will be within the weekly timeline too and everything that happened with Hunter during that time.**

**WolfAssassin369—Don't be ridiculous—of course you wanna read this chapter. And the next, and the next. ;3**

**AllSpark Princess—Sorry it took so long, but we're back now!**

**Alice Gone Madd—ALLY!**

**Shadescribe—Nice to hear from you again. :)**

**EndlessGalaxies97—He'll find her. He always finds her.**

**Yes, the song is a rendered version of "Playing With the Big Boys" from **_**Prince of Egypt**_**. I couldn't resist.**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

* * *

"Everyone, run! Here comes the reign. Everyone, run! Here comes the reign…" Les Friction_; Here Comes the Reign_

19

Ω Tenebrae in Aula Reginae Ω

(In the Court of the Queen of Darkness)

A week earlier;

A headache: that was the first thing that registered with Hunter as she slowly began to wake up. And what a glitch of a headache it was too! Groaning, the teen raised a hand that felt like lead to her head and splayed it across her forehead to massage first her temples, then her eyes. She lay there for a long moment, trying to soothe the ache and praying for it to disappear. Much to her relief it started to fade. Only when it was very nearly gone did the girl dare to open her eyes and take in her surroundings.

"Mmm!" Hunter shut her eyes against the blinding light and raised a hand to shield them from it. Then she slowly opened them again and squinted up. Above her, letting in the light were nine round, stained-glass windows that… seemed to be depictions of the moon? They were spaced circularly. One quite large pane was placed right in the center and appeared to be a blood moon. Around the outside of it were eight other panes that appeared to depict the cycle of the moon's phases.

A chill ran down Hunter's spine and back up it. She didn't like this. There was a serious cult-ish vibe going on here. Slowly she sat up and shook the last of the fog out of her head before looking around some more. Beyond the rays of light she could see darkness and flickering candles on the walls. Judging from their positions, the room she was in was round. That's when the sixteen-year-old looked down to discover that, not only was she laying on some sort of stone slab, she was also dressed in a long, flowing, blue dress with matching flats on her feet. That just helped to freak her out even more. Why was she in a dress? Where were her regular clothes? And, most importantly, _**who had redressed her**_? This all just kept getting weirder and creepier, and the more it did that the more that cult-ish vibe kept getting stronger.

All of a sudden the sound of massive, heavy doors being opened rang throughout the room, startling the girl and causing her to jump and gaze with wide eyes in the direction the noise have come from. It was hard to see beyond the light she was spotlighted in, but she could make out several silhouettes coming towards her. It was hard to tell how many, and the room echoed so much that it was impossible to tell by sound.

Hackles rising and lips parting to bear her teeth, Hunter quickly slipped off the opposite side of the stone table so that the slab we between her and whoever was coming at her. Clenching her fists the teen extracted her razors. "Where am I?" she demanded, doing her best to keep her core-numbing fear out of her voice. "What do you want with me?" Only the sound of footsteps coming closer and—far worse—_**surrounding**_ her answered her questions. Hunter whirled around as the footsteps moved behind her. They were hemming her in again! And it certainly didn't help her nerves when they all stayed just far enough out of the light so that she couldn't really see them. "Answer me!" Hunter snapped. "What do you want?!" She was starting to lose the grip on her terror now.

"It's not a question of what we want with you," a voice Hunter quickly recognized as Dusk's sounded out.

The teen turned towards the voice and watched intently at the tall, intimidating Hybrid stepped into the light. She looked even more menacing with the light shining directly down on her like this. Hunter growled.

Dusk, unmasked, sneered and chuckled at the youngling's reaction. "It's a question of what the Mistress wants with you," she stated.

"Mis… Mistress?" Hunter stammered, completely confused. "What mistress?"

Dusk's sneer darkened, and the gleam in her emerald eyes glinted dangerously. "You'll find out," she assured the child. "The question is are you going to come along willingly this time? Or are we going to have to go through another temper tantrum where you think you can escape us and try to fight your way out before we ultimately bring you to your knees and drag your ass where we want it?

Hunter was quiet for a long time, taking this all into consideration. As much as it pained her to admit, Dusk was completely right. She could try to fight and escape but it would be pointless to. She might be able to take a few of them out but not enough to give her a better chance of actually getting away, let alone _**all**_ of them. The only thing she'd accomplish by fighting now would be making a rebellious stand and letting them know she didn't like this, and they already knew that. So what was the point? Plus she was a little sore from her last encounter with them yet and she really didn't want to be beat up again so soon after. So, reluctantly, the teen surrendered. Drawing herself up to full height again, Hunter slowly retracted her razors back into her knuckles and simply stood there.

Dusk nodded. "You _**do**_ have some brains after all," she condescendingly praised the girl. "Now come. And if you even think about trying to make trouble you'll dearly regret it, so I highly suggest you don't." And with that cryptic but no less threatening warning/suggestion, the formidable woman turned and began walking away out of the light.

A sharp tip of a blade poking into her spine caused Hunter to jump and glare behind her.

"Move," the owner of the blade—a slender but still muscular (or maybe that was just the armor) Hybrid male—ordered.

A deep growl rumbled up from Hunter's chest, but she begrudgingly moved out. She'd already made the decision to not fight, so there was no point in going back on it now, especially if she didn't want to get her aft handed to her again. Besides, she wanted to find out just who this all important "Mistress" was.

Halls, corridors, stairs, halls, corridors, stairs, halls, corridors and even more stairs the group passed through and up as they traveled up to… Hunter didn't know where. She tried to memorize their path, but there were so many twists and turns with little to no lighting that it was all but completely impossible. Plus she was surrounded by a ring of Hybrids that seemed to dead set on blocking her line of sight as they walked along, so the teen eventually just gave up and stared at the back of the Hybrid before her. With any luck maybe a new power—preferably laser/heat vision—would kick in and she could roast that creep alive. No such luck.

The group continued on for some time and Hunter began to wonder just how far underground they'd been, how far they still were, and when they were finally going to reach their destination. Finally, after going up what the teen was sure the thousandth flight of stairs, they came into a hall that was longer, wider, and more brightly lit than any of the other halls had previously been. And at the very end of the long hall, illuminated by moonlight streaming through I high window above them and barricaded by several more guards was a set of large wooden doors. They were works of art; ornately decorated and polished to a sheen so they glimmered in the moonlight. But Hunter didn't have time to truly admire the doors because all at once she was being prodded on again. The girl watched on in awe and terror as the doors drew closer and closer. "_This is what it must've felt like for Dorothy and her friends_," she thought to herself. "_Of course, I don't think they really had to worry about the possibility of being killed by the Wizard once they finally got to meet him. Lucky bastards._"

As they neared the doors, the guards standing at attention before them turned to grasp the large, round iron handles of the doors and slowly pulled them open. The massive things creaked and groaned as they parted. Music that beautiful and entrancing but also eerie at the same time streamed out through the now open entrance from the throne room on the other side. At least, Hunter was pretty sure it was a throne room. She had no other explanation as to what it could possibly be. A large, open, high-ceilinged room with a long, dark raspberry colored carpet rolled out down the very center of the floor that led up to a raised stage where an incredibly ornate—oh, would you look at that?—throne that appeared to be carved out of moonstone sat: if that wasn't a throne room then what was?

As it was the throne room was full of people and they all appeared to be having some sort of… celebration? There was music, and more than a few of them were dancing, and they were all dressed up in fine, colorful clothes—even though there appeared to be some sort of color code between all of them—and that all definitely went along with some sort of celebration or ball. But a celebration of what?

It was only when Dusk suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her through the doors and into the room that Hunter realized she'd stop to take it all in. Now she was stumbling into the room and almost falling on her face from the unexpected pull. Luckily she caught herself before that happened. Pushing herself up off her knees and onto her feet again, Hunter whirled around with a glare and growl, instinctively readying herself to make some sort of retaliation against Dusk only to have the tip of a red-bladed sword shoved at her face, forcing her to back away. She did. But the glare remained intact.

"I thought I told you not to cause trouble," Dusk hissed. There was a challenge in her voice somewhere, as if she was daring Hunter to do something, to lash out. It'd be a lie if she said she didn't want it. More than anything the femme wanted to put this child in her place again, show her who was boss. Insubordination would not be tolerated. It didn't matter if this girl was the Fuser or not.

Hunter's hackles raised. Her energon boiled. She knew it wasn't a good idea, and she could tell it was what Dusk wanted, but she _**really**_ wanted to show this femme what for. She'd probably get put on her aft again, yeah, but that was the farthest thing from her mind right now. "You think _**this**_ is trouble?" she snarled. "Honey, you haven't _**seen**_ trouble yet!"

"Enough!" All of a sudden everything—Hunter and Dusk's confrontation, the music, the dancing and celebration—all came to an abrupt halt. Everyone turned towards the throne. Three people, who hadn't been there before, stood by the glorified chair, the female holding out her arms to signal 'stop'. As all the attention turned towards her, she lowered her arms and folded her hands together, her gaze falling on Hunter as she smiled warmly. "Welcome back home, Hunter, my dear!" she announced to the girl.

Hunter could only stare in confusion, the words sinking in and trying to form some sort of coherent meaning in her brain. "_**H-home**_?" she stammered. "_**Back**_?"

The two men standing beside the woman were beaming happily as well, particularly the younger of the two, his grin outshining everything else. "Hunter!" he called out to her. Laughing happily he completely jumped down the steps to the floor and came barreling towards her. "Hunter!"

The redhead appeared catatonic as she could only stare on in complete bafflement as the young man sprinted towards her. She didn't even retaliate when he swept her up into his arms and spun her, embracing her tight. She barely even moved.

Still laughing, the blonde-haired boy set her back down and held her at arm's length, looking into her eyes. "It's so good to see you again!" he exclaimed.

That only jumbled Hunter's thoughts more. "A… _**again**_?" "Back home"? "Again"? What? She'd… been here before? Met these people before? It was very obvious to tell that these people knew her, so logic dictated she must have… but she had no memory of… anything like that!

The boy's smile seemed to fade a bit at Hunter's question and lack of reaction. "Hunter," he murmured, "don't you… don't you remember me?" No reaction; not even a blink. "Hunter, it's me—Steel. Remember? Your cousin?"

An uncomfortable expression came over the girl's face as she slowly backed away from him, pulling out of his grip. "Uh…."

That happy shine left his electric-blue eyes, and Steel's posture visibly slumped in misery. "You… _**don't**_ remember…." he mumbled, turning away. His reaction actually made Hunter feel a bit remorseful over the fact that she couldn't remember or didn't know him—whichever scenario it was.

A warm chuckle drew both teens' attentions. The woman and the man were striding up to them, arm and arm, looking like the epitome of a perfect, happy married couple. "Don't be so downtrodden, Steel," the woman reassured the boy, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She remembers nothing about any of us, but soon she will." She turned her gaze to Hunter and, unwrapping herself from her significant other's arm, went to the child. "My dear, Huntress," she murmured lovingly, reaching out as if to embrace her.

Hunter quickly backed out of her reach.

Unfazed, the woman simply crossed her arms and continued to beam at the girl. "I hope you don't mind the dress," she stated. "I remembered blue was your favorite color and…"

"Where am I?" Hunter interrupted, finally managing to find her voice. She hugged herself, looking around at everything and everyone as she did. Why were they all looking at her? Why didn't they stop looking at her? Why was she here? She wanted to go home!

"You have no need to be afraid, my dear," the woman assured her. "You will not be harmed—you are among friends and family here."

"Friends?" Hunter couldn't help but scoff. "Family? I don't know who you are, but you're _**not my**_ family. You _**took**_ me from mine." The teen bared her teeth in a vicious snarl. "I demand to know why."

The man who had been arm and arm with the woman growled back at the girl and pointed a rigid finger at her. "You are in no position to be demanding anything, little girl," he snapped, sapphire eyes that matched Hunter's alight with irked fire and boring holes into Hunter.

Hunter simply glared back. "Take it and shove it, old man."

The fire in the man's eyes flared brighter and he raised a hand and reeled it back as if to slap her. He was just about to bring it down when the woman stepped in front of him, placing her slender hands on his broad, muscular chest. His eyes focused on her and quickly softened. It was plain to see how much he loved this woman.

"Ray, love," the woman purred softly, smoothing her hands over his chest, up across his shoulders, and down his arms, "I hardly think striking the poor girl will do much more than anger her."

Ray was silent for a moment, his eye traveling back towards Hunter before returning to his mate. A smile slowly creased his lips as he nodded. "You're right, Luna, my sweet," he agreed, kissing the palm of her hand that currently cupped his cheek.

Hunter couldn't help but roll her eyes away and quietly groan.

"I am sorry, Hunter" Luna's voice drew the redhead's attention once more, "Of course you wouldn't remember yet, but Ray has a habit of letting his temper run away with him." She chuckled, "I'm afraid he's where you get yours from."

"Seriously, what is this?" Hunter hissed. "What is all this "you wouldn't remember" crap? I can understand you people knowing who and what I am, but you talk like you know me way more personally than that. But, see, the problem with that is that I don't know you from Adam. I don't even have a vague recollection of any of you."

"I assure you, my dear, you will remember in a moment," Luna declared.

"If you know what's good for you," the redheaded girl snarled, "you'll forget about helping me remember whatever and just let me go. You know what I am, so you know what power I have. And apart from that my father and the rest of my family are still out there, looking for me. And when they find me-I don't care if you're all Hybrids or not-you're in _**big **_trouble. Mark my words."

Ray snorted derisively. "You honestly believe that pathetic excuse for a Prime could save you if he actually, by some miracle, found you?"

Fire dancing in her eyes, a small smirk curled up a corner of Hunter's mouth. She met Ray's gaze. "He _**will **_find me," she stated matter of factly. "And when he does, he'll tear you all limb from limb for what you did. And I'll watch and laugh as he does it." She chuckled at the angry storm in the man's sapphire blue eyes. "Go ahead and try slapping me again," she dared him. "I know you want to. Yai!" Hunter yelped as she was suddenly slapped by Luna, not Ray. Scowling at the older female, the teenager rubbed her cheek, a red handprint already highly defined on it.

"Someone has forgotten her manners," the woman scolded. "We will most definitely have to amend that later." She turned away and began to recede back down the carpet towards the throne stage again. "But we have more pressing matters at the moment. Apolune, Apogee," she called out as she began to mount the steps leading up to her throne.

Two Hybrids males that appeared to be identical twins, came forth from the sea of bodies to bow at the woman's feet. Unlike most of the other Hybrids in the room, these two weren't dressed in some color code of gray or black or red. They were two of the few who were dressed more colorfully and individually. Maybe they were part of an inner circle? "Yes, Mistress," they responded at once.

"The Fuser believes she will be rescued," Luna stated, sinking down into her throne. "She believes she has friends on the outside who pose a challenge to our great Lunation. Please relieve her of this notion."

"Of course, Mistress," the twins answered. They rose to their feet and snapped their fingers.

The lights in the room—artificial, candle, etc.—all when out at once, causing a chill to go up Hunter's spine. Half-way moving into a ready position, the teen instinctively scanned the room, though with as dark as it was, there wasn't much to see. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Steel's electric-blue eyes gazing down at her through the blackness. She could just make out the smile curling his lips and the reassuring nod he gave her. It didn't help her relax. A flash of light caused her to jump. Looking up, Hunter saw a beam of moonlight coming through some far-up window, and her eyes followed it to where it reflected off of what must have been a large mirror. That had to have been what caused the previous flash. She continued to follow the light until her gaze fell upon Apolune and Apogee again, who were spotlighted by it. They were still standing at the front of the room by the steps, but were now facing the crowd. She didn't like how they're eyes were fixed on her. The sixteen-year-old naturally recoiled a bit, trying to shrink under their gaze.

That's when the music started: soft but chilling, deep, dark, and foreboding, ringing out through the darkness and filling the room.

Hunter watched on as the twins moved their arms to the beat of the music, positioning them to make strange, eerie, and… admittedly even a bit demonic symbols. Suddenly not only was the room visibly dark, it felt dark and downright evil as well—some menacing, unseen presence among them all. This was all getting weirder and creepier by the minute. Hunter wanted out. She _**needed**_ out! But there was no where she could go now, and, as a matter of fact, she seemed to be rooted to where she was standing and quite unable to move.

Then came the chanting—chanting that sounded an awful like some kind of spell. The twins started it, but steadily every other person in the room—save Luna and, of course, Hunter—were reciting the strange words as well. The syllables of the words—whatever the heck they were or meant—moved with the beat, the voices of those speaking them echoing in the hall, growing louder and louder along with the music until the unison noise was all encompassing. It was all Hunter could think and hear and feel. It made her cringe and set her teeth in physical pain. It made her tremble with the magnitude of it all. And the darkness that was carried with it—that deep void of the blackest evil—it was enough to make Hunter want to hit her knees, cower away, and try her best to hide from it all. But she couldn't. All she could do was stand there among it all and try her very best to face it down. It was harder than it seemed.

And without any warning, the chanting stopped, Apolune and Apogee disappearing in a colorful explosion.

"_So you think you've got friends in high places_," Apogee's voice murmured in Hunter's ear, causing the child to gasp in alarm and lurch away. "_with the power to put us on the run._" Once again he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

That's when Apolune appeared right in the teenager's face. "_Well forgive us these smiles on our faces,_" he sang, grinning devilishly as Hunter yelped and backed away from him. "_You'll know what power is when we are done._" He disappeared again as well.

That's when both of the twins appeared behind and on either side of Hunter, hands on her shoulders, whispering in her ear, "_Hon….._"

Flinching but forcing herself to stand firm, Hunter snarled and glared at them both. She wrenched herself out of their grips. Not that it matter because hardly a second later and Apogee had a hold of her again, restraining her in a tight grip and forcing her to dance with him as they waltzed around and down the aisle. "_You're playing with the big kids now._"

Apolune came dancing up beside them. "_Playing with the big kids now._"

"Oh, that's pretty," Apogee crooned, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Hunter's face.

Grimacing, Hunter pulled away from him, only to have his twin grab her up into a waltz as well. _"Every spell and gesture tells you who's the best._"

Apolune spun the teen out away from his body, allowing his brother to grab her other arm before they both forcefully pushed her farther down the aisle, both singing, "_You're playing with the big kids now._"

"Whoa-oh!" Hunter just managed to catch herself and keep her balance. Brushing her long hair up and out of her face, the girl looked up to see many of the other Hybrids marching to the beat in a circle around her, chanting those words again. Goosebumps prickled her flesh. What was with these people?!

"_You're playing with the big kids now!_" Apogee and Apolune's voices carried out above the chanting. "_You're playing with the big kids now._"

Apogee suddenly poofed up beside Hunter. "Stop your foolish wishing."

Then Apolune appeared. "_You'll find no one's missing…_"

They harmonized, "_… you. Give up and give in now!_"

"_They aren't coming for you, kid,_" Apolune hissed in the redhead's ear.

Angered by that comment, Hunter clenched a fist and wheeled around to knock the creep's teeth down his throat. But the twins poofed away just in time, they're voice still laughing and ringing out, "_You're playing with the big kids now!_"

The sixteen-year-old snarled and pivoted around, trying to find them. Or at least some way out of this swirling mass of bodies that she was currently the nexus of! This was all very disorienting, not to mention creepy! And the fact that the chanting kept growing louder, thus causing the sensation of darkness to grow heavier and more foreboding with each syllable only made it more so!

Suddenly Hunter felt something tight and constrictive around her right wrist. She quickly looked down. A chain! How the heck did that get there?! Something squeezed her other wrist and the redhead looked to find yet another chain there too. Then a pair of cuffs clinked around her ankles. Snarling Hunter strained and fought against them, but she quickly discovered that she was being held fast. How she wasn't sure. These chains didn't seem to be attached to anything—it was as if they'd literally materialized out of thin air! Wait… that's what all the chanting was, wasn't it? It was a spell! To bind her up and hold her down! The realization of this made Hunter fight and strain against the bonds harder, hoping she could break out of the chains before the spell was completed. But it was no good. She couldn't break away, no matter how hard she tried.

The twins appeared before her again, advancing towards her. "_You're playing with the big kids now! You're playing with the big kids now._" They started running their hands over her, not touching her, just passing back and forth in front of her body and over her shoulders and around her legs and arms and such. As they did this more chains materialized around Hunter, following the path of their hands. Slowly they began dragging her down to the floor.

Hunter screamed in both horror and rage, "No!"

"_Don't make such a big fuss. You will kneel before us!_"

"_**No!**_"

"_Kneel to our splendorous power!_"

"Shove it!"

"_You put up a front._"

"_Put up a good fight._"

"_And just to show we feel no spite…_"

"… _You can join we Acolytes!_"

"_But first, Girl, it's time to bow!_"

The chains finally pulled Hunter down and she hit her knees, but she still tried her hardest to resist. "Blow it out your asses!"

"_Or it's your own grave you'll dig, Kid. You're playing with the big kids. Playing with the big kids! _

Apogee spun his hands around in a showy way and suddenly he was holding a box that looked like a very small treasure chest inlaid with blue stones.

"_Playing with the big kids_"

Palming the lid of the chest, Apogee slowly began to open it. A bright, pale blue light gleamed from within the box. It also seemed to be trying it's hardest to break free from the confines of it.

" _Playing with the big kids! _

Apolune unexpectedly seized Hunter's head in his hands and held her still.

"_Playing with the big kids!_"

"Hey! Wh-what do you think you're doing?! Get your hands off me!"

"_Playing with the big kids now!_"

Unable to be contained any longer, the light that was held within the chest exploded out of the box, almost blowing Apogee off his feet as it did. It streaked towards Hunter like a bolt of lightning and slammed into her forehead with such a force that everyone in the room was blown back with the shockwave of it. The teen fell to the floor. Slowly the chains holding her down dissipated like stars into the air until she was free of them.

Groaning and quietly cursing, everyone that had been put on the floor got back up on their feet, dusting themselves and each other off.

Hunter tediously opened heavy eyelids and gazed around in a daze, a deafening ring in her ears, feeling as though she wasn't really in the world. For a moment she could remember nothing—not even her own name. And then it crashed in: the pain.

The sixteen-year-old sucked in a sudden, sharp breath. Her head was absolutely going to explode! "Mmm-mmm! Frag!" she hissed, hands flying up to hold her imploding skull. "Frag!" The pain grew worse. And worse. And worse yet. It was like her head was being smashed between two colliding planets: Hunter was all but bashing her fists into her skull at full strength to try and relieve the pain. Hot and red as lava, the teen was sweating a waterfall. What was going on?! And why did it hurt so Primus-damned much?! "Rrrraaaaahhhhhh!"

More than a few alarmed screams rising up from the crowd, the onlookers all backed off.

"Hunter!" Steel bellowed, terrified by what was happening. He moved to rush to his cousin's side and try to help her if he could (he wasn't sure her could—he wasn't sure what was going on), but a strong hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked over at his grandfather icy, even gaze.

"Wait," Ray calmly ordered.

Steel opened his mouth to protest, but the look in those cold, harsh, sapphire blue eyes heartily warned against such an action. So he did as he was told. But he was far from happy about it.

Hunter was still rolling around on the ground in excruciating agony. It was getting to the point she couldn't take it anymore—her body had to give out from it all any minute now. But then, just as abruptly as it had slammed into her, the pain vanished without a trace. It was a long while before Hunter allowed herself to come out of the fetal position and stop clutching her head, for fear if she so much as breathed to deeply the pain would return. But when she finally realized it was actually gone, she slowly relaxed.

"Do you remember now, Huntress?" a familiar voice rang out.

Rolling over so that she could gaze in the direction the voice had come from, the teenager looked upwards until her eyes lit on Luna. She froze, and stared in disbelief. "Grandmother…" she just barely murmured.

Luna beamed happily and opened her arms wide as if to embrace the child, though she made no move towards her. "Welcome home, my child."

Hunter didn't move. Didn't speak. Didn't breathe. All she could do was stare at her grandmother in utter shock. Then the wrath came. Before anyone could blink, the redhead was op off the floor, had ripped a hatchet off the belt of one of the Acolytes, and was jetting through the air towards Luna. "**RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!**" With all her might, Hunter swung the weapon down, driving the sorceress into the floor. "**YOU WITCH!**"

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**Confession #45:**

**Oy…. This is probably one of the worst songs/musical numbers I've put in any of my stories. *slams face into keyboard* Ugh….**


	20. Return to Hell

**We be back with more tale to tell ye! Arrr!**

… **Don't know why I went pirate there, but okay, whatever. Back with more story for ya'll! Took me a while to figure out how I wanted the conversations in here, because I'm essentially rewriting everything you currently know about Hunter's previous backstory, but I finally got it. Yay!**

**Also, quick FYI, I am currently editing Transformers Diaries: Kindred Sparks because I rejoined a website I'd previously left and am reuploading my stores to it. KS is the first one I'm doing, so In the near future, I'll probably be updating it on here too. So I guess just keep a look out for that? It'll be mostly the same, but there will be some variations in it that might be interesting and fun to check out. Probably not though. XD**

**Alice Gone Madd—Damn straight.**

**EndlessGalaxies97—Thank you. Kinda took a risk with that and wasn't sure how well it would turn out or be received. Still not quite convinced that's my best musical number, but as long as somebody likes it. XD**

**WolfAssassin369—Riiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggggggghhhhhhhhht… NOW!**

**AllSpark Princess—Guess we'll just have to find out. ;)**

**Oh, also note, this is a day-late birthday present for my little spark-sister, WolfAssassin369. Happy birthday, sis! Love you!**

**I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.**

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Masaru Yokoyama; _To Fear &amp; Anger_

20

Ω Ad Inferos Ω

(Return to Hell)

Hunter couldn't control the vicious rage. She couldn't control the delirious hate. She couldn't even control herself. The only thing she could control was the axe in her hands as she hacked it down again and again at her grandmother, desperately trying to break through the magical barrier the woman had quickly put up around herself. "**YOU WITCH!**" she roared. "**YOU TWISTED, MANIPULATIVE, SADISTIC, EVIL WITCH!** **I'LL KILL YOU! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU BITCH!**"

"Language, Huntress!" Luna bellowed. Pushing out a hand she shoved the force-field back at Hunter, slamming it into her and causing the girl to fly backwards.

"Whoa-oh!" Hunter flailed through the air for a moment, before igniting flames at her feet once more soaring back at her grandmother. Instead of taking the ax to her again, the teen wrapped both arms around the sorceress and carried her along, slamming her through the wall. She pinned Luna to the back wall of the adjacent room, hatchet across her chest. "My language," the redhead seethed through clenched teeth, "is the very last thing you should be worried about bitch. Thanks to you, I remember _**everything**_!"

At this point the Acolytes—Field and Court together—began charging through the hole in the wall, weapons and magic at the ready, determined to defend their mistress. Luna ordered for them to stop. They all froze in place, but remained at the ready to jump into action at any given moment.

Luna turned her attention back fuming granddaughter, completely unfazed by the bared teeth and the enraged fire blazing in the girl's sapphire eyes. "What you remember now," she stated calmly and soothingly, "and how you translate it are two separate things entirely, my child."

"I know what I found out!" Hunter barked, bashing Luna harder back against the wall, deepening the crater and causing large cracks and splits to travel up through the stone towards the ceiling. "I know what you did, and I know _**why**_ you did it."

Luna shook her head. "No, Huntress," she replied. "You made assumptions, and you made them wrongly. But I can't blame you for that: you were young and you still are."

"Don't talk to me like I'm some love-starved, desperate little girl anymore—I'm not! You can't manipulate me anymore! And I _**won't**_ let you use me!" Hunter pressed the ax harder against her grandmother, causing her to grimace in pain. "And I'll make sure you can't do the same thing to anyone else ever again. Ahh! Uhh…." Hunter's threat fell pathetic and hollow as she was suddenly blasted with a sleep spell and slowly slid down her grandmother's body to the floor, eyes rolling back in her head and slipping shut. The hatchet fell from her grip and clanked to the stone.

Drawing herself up to full height, Luna brushed herself off and straightened her gown and hair before stepping over her granddaughter's prostrate form. She scowled at the sleeping child. This wasn't going to be half as easy as she'd originally thought. "Excellent work, Steel," the witch praised her eldest grandchild, who was striding towards her along with her husband. "And quick thinking. I didn't want to use my magic against Huntress for fear she'd believe her assumptions of me correct, and thanks to you I didn't have to." She placed her hands on either side of her grandson's face and held his head, gazing into his electric-blue eyes. "Thank you, my precious boy," she murmured appreciatively.

Steel couldn't bring himself to smile back. All he could think of was the fact that _**he**_ had used his magic on his cousin—something he'd promised himself never to do without her permission—and how ashamed he felt because of it. But he had no reason to… right? This had been a mitigating circumstance after all: Hunter had threatened their grandmother! He couldn't have just sat back and let play out what would have been played out. Could've he? His eyes moved from his grandmother's gaze over to his sleeping cousin and down to his boots. No. This wasn't okay. Not with him and most assuredly not with Hunter when she finally came to her senses again. What had he done? "Of course, Grandmother," he replied, slipping into his automaton voice again. He pulled his head free of her hands.

Luna turned to Ray and linked her arm with his before turning to address the Acolytes. "Please take Ms. James to her room, and be sure the containment spell around it is tripled. I'm afraid I didn't anticipate just how strong she would be now, and I don't wish to take any chances of her managing to break through the field."

"Yes, Mistress," the Acolytes murmured. Several of them came forward towards Hunter and rolled her onto her back before gently picking her up and carrying her between them. They took her out of the room and down the hall.

Luna sighed and smiled up at her husband and grandson. "Well, now," she chirped, as if she hadn't just been pinned to a wall with a hatchet and threatened by the Fuser, "dinner?"

* * *

Hunter had decided that she was getting really fed up with all this "being knocked out and waking up in a different location than she previously had been" crap. Honestly this was the third time in the past twenty-four hours that had happened. The next person that tried to knock her unconscious was going to be kicked to Cybertron and back—she promised herself that! "Well," the teen muttered to herself, "at least they gave me my regular clothes back to change into." She snickered. "I wonder how pissed Luna'll be that I shredded the dress."

With a heavy sigh, the sixteen-year-old turned her gaze away from the monotonous scene out her window to look around her room. It was the same room she'd had before. Well, not exactly the same, since this wasn't the mansion she'd lived in before everything had happened, but it was set up and decorated in the exact same way her room in the last mansion had been. Maybe they'd tried to go the route of bringing back memories of better times by doing that, but to be perfectly honest, Hunter just felt it was eerie. Besides she didn't have that many good memories of the past interaction with her grandparents. Oh, there was a few, but those all had to do with her cousins, not Luna or Ray. And those few were overshadowed by all the bad ones anyhow.

The very thought about them just stirred up the redhead's ire to the point she couldn't keep herself from punching at the window. Her fist contacted the containment field, sending ripples around the room through it. "Ack!" Cursing in Cybertronian, Hunter clutched her hand closer to her, gently rubbing her knuckles then massaging her entire hand and wrist. She'd forgotten how badly containment spells hurt..

"Where'd you learn language like that?" a sudden voice asked.

"Ahh!" Hunter was so startled she slipped and fell off the window seat she'd been perched on. Placing a hand over her racing spark, the teen shot a harsh glare in the direction of the voice. "Steel!" she barked accusingly. He must have teleported himself in here rather than using the door. And seeing as how he'd defined his abilities so much he didn't have to be accompanied by a billow of smoke, his arrival had gone completely unannounced until he'd spoken. "Screw you! You nearly gave me a spark-attack!"

Steel couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think you have to worry about something like that happening to you for a year or two," he reassured her. "Unless your love affair with junk food hasn't changed."

"Ha, ha, you're a riot," Hunter shot back sardonically. She stood and rubbed the seat of her shorts before looking her blonde-haired, electric-blue-eyed cousin up and down. Primus, he'd changed! Then again, why was she so surprised—it'd been, what, five years since they'd seen each other? The last time she'd seen him he'd just been a baby-faced fourteen-year-old with a voice that cracked on every other word. He sure wasn't that anymore. Nope, Steel was definitely a man now and a rather good looking one too. He'd definitely be a lady-killer if he ever got the chance to get away from this hellhole out into the real world and meet some nice girls who weren't all completely brainwashed by Luna.

Evidently Hunter wasn't the only one who had been taking note of how puberty and time away from each other could change a person because all at once Steel commented, "You grew up." Something that looked like a proud smile gracefully curled his lips. "You're not the little girl I remember."

Hunter couldn't help but smile. There was just something about Steel that could make her feel comfortable and happy, like she was safe whenever he was around. "Is that a good thing?" she joked, raising an eyebrow.

Steel chuckled. "I'm not sure," he replied teasingly. "On the one hand, you're turning into a beautiful young lady any guy would be lucky to have. On the other hand, you're turning into a beautiful young lady any guy would be lucky to have."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Oh, my gosh!" she groaned a bit over-dramatically. "What is it with guys in my family and wanting to keep me away from guys who aren't in my family?"

"We just want to keep you safe, is all."

"Well, I appreciate the thought, but I do believe I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt you for a minute."

Hunter smiled warmly. It was good to see Steel again and talk to him like this—like how they used to. Even in this hellhole it was still good. "How've you been, Stormcrow?" She used the pet-name she'd given him when they were children—an allusion to his favorite character from his favorite book series: Gandalf the Grey. Later on they'd discovered that the name actually had something of a bad connotation within the story, but it had still sounded cool and Steel still liked it, so they'd stuck to it. "Really."

Sighing, Steel shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over towards the canopy bed. "Uh… not bad," he answered after a moment, clearing his throat awkwardly. He didn't sound completely sure about his answer. The nineteen-year-old sat down on the large oak chest situated at the foot of the bed and looked up at her with another smile. "What about you, Phoenix?" He returned the nickname usage.

Crossing her arms over her chest and slowly leaning up against the wall, so as not to set off the containment barrier and get shocked again, Hunter responded, "Well, for a long time everything was a little rocky. But the last several months—up until today—have pretty much been great."

"What was going on before these last months?"

"That's… a long story for another time."

Steel snorted in amusement. Then he became quiet as he looked down at the floor for a long time. He scuffed the toe of his boot across it. "Have, uh…" he spoke after a moment, "… have you seen, Ally?" He looked up at her hopefully.

Hunter bit her lip and sorrowfully looked away. "I… um… I haven't seen her since they took my memories, Steel," she answered, meeting his gaze again. "The last time I saw her we were being separated by the Counsel, and, the next thing I know, I'm waking up back at the orphanage with memories of two different foster families dumping me."

Steel shook his head and snorted scornfully, his warm smile gone. "Primus," he murmured, standing up and walking around the room aimlessly, hands still buried in his pockets. The young man stopped by the large, wooden dresser and placed a hand on the top of it, digging his fingernails into the wood. He kept mumbling to himself.

Hunter watched him carefully. This was the most agitated she'd ever seen him.

After a long moment, the blonde whipped back around to face his redheaded cousin, anger in his eyes. "I just can't believe the Counsel did that to you!" he declared. "I can't believe they just ripped all of your memories of us away from you like that! And then, on top of it all, to go and put a seal on your powers to put them into remission again! That is the cruelest thing I've ever…"

"I asked them to, Steel," Hunter interrupted softly, voice even and gentle. She hoped to not upset him further.

Steel's voice dropped off and he froze. He stared wide-eyed at her in disbelief. He stared are her for so long, Hunter began to wonder if she'd spontaneously sprouted a second head out of her neck and she wasn't aware of it. "Wha… _**what**_ did you say?" the nineteen-year-old finally rasped.

"I… _**asked**_ them to," Hunter repeated slowly. She swallowed hard and looked away from her cousin's unwavering, almost accusing gaze for a moment. "The Hybrid Counsel didn't just rip my memories away—I asked them specifically to take them away." Her spark broke when she saw the utter pain and betrayal shadow Steel's face at this revelation.

Feeling as though he was boneless he was so flabbergasted by this information, Steel stumbled backwards and had to catch the dresser in order to keep himself from falling. Even then he hung limply on it. It felt like the wind had just been sucker-punched out of him. Ten fold. "But… _**why**_?" he hissed, tears welling in his electric-blue eyes. The very idea that his beloved little sister and his cousin, had voluntarily relinquished memories of their past together, hurt him worse than anything else ever had. Was he not that important to them?

Hunter bit her lip and looked away. "I…" she looked back her cousin mournfully, "… I didn't _**want**_ to remember, Steel. It hurt too much."

"You didn't… _**want**_ to remember," Steel murmured. A heated and somewhat mocking tone rumbled through his voice. He glared harshly at the girl. "Didn't want to remember _**me**_, you mean."

With that accusation pricking at her ire, Hunter's gaze narrowed and turned cold as soft growl reverberated up from her chest. "Don't be so conceited," she snapped at her cousin, perching her fists on her hips. "The decision had nothing to do with you."

"It obviously had something to do with me," Steel shot back. "I mean, I am part of the memories that you wanted stripped away, so I think I had a least a little bit to do with it."

"Yeah, and that was the _**only**_ way you were involved with it, Steel. I couldn't exactly pick and choose what memories I wanted to keep what ones I wanted to go—it was a package deal, okay? Either it all stays or it all goes: that's how it works."

"You don't need to tell me how it works," Steel growled, shoving past her as he made his way to the window to gaze out it. Maybe if he watched the snow falling beyond the barrier he could get his emotions back under control. However, it was evident his cousin wasn't about to let that happen.

"Yeah, well, if you know how it works, why're you gettin' up in my face about it?" the redheaded teen demanded, crossing her arms as she swiveled around to watch him.

"Because we're cousins," he quickly responded, turning back to face her. "We're family, right? And I thought that meant something to you, but I guess it doesn't!"

"Don't you _**dare**_ accuse me like that! Steel, of course you're important to me—you're my family. And if there's one thing at all in the world that I value, it's family! But I had to make a decision of what would be best for me, and as good as the memories of you, Ally, and me were—as much as I treasured them and wanted to keep them—I couldn't."

"Right," Steel snorted indignantly, "because it "hurt too much"." He quoted her in a painfully mocking tone as he used air quotes around the phrase.

That did not help Hunter's temper. "It _**did**_!" she insisted, jabbing her arms down at her sides, fists clenched.

Steel rolled his eyes and turned away to look about out the window again. "Yeah, right," came the derisive snort.

"I hurt myself, Steel!"

The chilling revelation caused a heavy silence to fall over the room that held for what seemed an eternity. It was only broken with a slight rustling of clothing as Steel finally turned to face Hunter, eyes wide and jaw on the floor in astonishment. He was horrified. Had he really heard that right? Hunter had tried to…?

"Yeah," Hunter answered his silent questions, the slightest glint of tears in her sapphire eyes. "Yeah, you heard me. I hurt myself." She suddenly pulled up the sleeves of her shirt, held up her arms, palms facing skyward, and looked down at them. "You can tell because of my healing factor…" she met Steel's eyes again, "… but I slit my wrists more than once. I tried to cut my throat a couple times when the wrist thing didn't work, but I was too much of a wuss—could never force myself to cut deep enough. Finally got to the point where I was this close to just stabbing myself through the spark." The girl let go a dry, contemptuous, pained snort. Dropping her head, she allowed her long, red hair to hide her face as a few tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "That might've actually worked, but Greasy just happened to come across me right as I was getting ready to plunge the blade in and stopped me from doing it." Hunter let her arms fall to her sides again.

Sniffling, she raised her head once again and brushed her hair back out of her face, aware she was crying now but not caring as she faced down her cousin. "_**That**_," her voice was full of determination, even as it quavered, "is why I made the decision to have my memories taken and blocks put on my powers—why I had to let you go." Hunter shook her head. "I was too young, Steel. I was too young to deal with everything from being the Fuser to the fallout of what happened; I wasn't ready for something like that. So in order to protect myself I… chose to have all of that removed so that I wouldn't have to deal with it. Greasy and the Counsel didn't force anything on me, Steel. The might have given me advice and support, but in the end I made the decision myself. Yes, I regret not being able to remember you and Ally, because you guys were the only good things about my time with the Lunation. But it was something I had to do. Not just for myself, but for everyone else on down the line who would and will need me."

The sound of a lone hand-clap caused both teens to startle and whip around to face the door of the room. Luna was standing there in the open door way, gazing at both of them with an amused expression as she slowly and irreverently smacked her palms together. "Bravo," she mocked. "Bravo. Such eloquence, Huntress—I applaud you. I can see I did have some influence on you while you were among us last."

Hunter snorted and looked away for a moment, something that was between a grimace and a smirk contorted her lips. She shook her head. Unbelievable. Absolutely fricking unbelievable. The teen turned back to her grandmother, meeting her gaze with a embittered smile. "Yeah," she responded. "And I can see you're just as narcissistic and full of it as I remember you being."

"Hunter!" Steel exclaimed, eyes wide with horror. He simply couldn't believe she would dare say such a thing to the woman who was not only their grandmother, but their leader as well.

"So," Luna responded to her granddaughter, folding her hands patiently at her waist, "you haven't come off the delusion that I'm a "wicked witch"." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"I'm not delusional," Hunter shot back. "You _**are**_ a witch. That's not just how I see you. As per the other half of that description," she snorted, "I'd say "wicked" isn't a strong enough word to describe you."

A slight and dangerous sounding chuckle came from the sorceress. "Steel," she addressed her grandson, though she didn't look away from her granddaughter, "would you be a darling and leave your cousin and I in privacy for a moment."

Steel looked between the two females in alarm. This wasn't good. Not in the least bit. Something very bad was going to happen here, he could feel it in his bones. And while it was his natural penchant to listen to and obey his grandmother, the young man couldn't help but feel that him leaving the two of them alone wasn't a wise idea. He didn't want either hurt. "Actually, Grandmother," he began to say, "I feel as though I should remain…"

"I told you to leave, did I not?" Luna interrupted him. Her tone was dark and she turned a dangerously glinting eye on him.

"Yes, Grandmother."

"You would question my authority?"

"No, Grandmother, never, but I…"

"Then I strongly suggest you heed my order and leave us," Luna demanded again. She turned her gaze back to Hunter. "Huntress and I have much to discuss."

"Grandmother, I really don't think…"

"Leave us." A threat thundered through Luna's voice. "_**Now.**_"

Steel tightly shut his mouth. Quickly he shot a glance towards Hunter, who met his gaze and nodded her head to let him know it was all right. Only then did he take his leave. "Yes, Grandmother," he conceded with a slight bow. Then he walked out of the room, the guards standing on the other side of the doors pulling the large things shut behind him.

Without warning, Hunter was struck across the face. "Ahh!" She stumbled backwards, holding her cheek. Primus, those rings of her made it hurt so much worse!

"You ungrateful, arrogant child!" Luna hissed. She came at the sixteen-year-old again, backhanding her across the face once more. "The Fuser you may be," she snarled, "but inside this walls you are nothing more than a lowly slug!" She struck the girl again. "The only thing keeping me from destroying you for your insolence is because I have use for you. However, that does not mean I cannot be persuaded to change my mind! There are spells to strip a Hybrid of their power, and when it comes down to it, that is all I need from you. So if you wish to live, I suggest you mind your cheek!" The Sorceress slapped the teenager one last time, using a bit of magic this time to cause more of an impact.

Hunter hit the floor. Instinctively she curled up into a protective ball, hands hiding her beaten face. Her eyes watered. Frag! Luna hadn't lost her malicious touch in the least bit—this hurt worse than any beating the sixteen-year-old could remember receiving from the Sorceress, and there had been plenty to compare with. But she wouldn't let it do what it was meant to: she wouldn't give in. She wouldn't bow down. Not this time. As bad as this was—emotionally, mentally, physically—Hunter could now say that she'd had far worse. She knew something of pain now. This was nothing compared to that. "Beat me, Luna," Hunter murmured, slowly lowering her hands and looking up at her grandmother.

Luna arched a graceful eyebrow. "What did you say?" It was a dangerous dare.

Unafraid, Hunter took it. "Beat me," she repeated, pushing herself up on her feet. "Beat me bloody; beat me raw; beat me within an inch of my final life; beat me to your heart's content if it makes you feel better. I don't give a damn." Looking down, the teenager met the witch's cold gaze with a harsh and obstinate one of her own and firmly set her jaw. "Maybe it worked when I was little," she stated, "but it's not gonna work this time. I am _**not**_ that little girl anymore, Luna. I've been through hell and back—been killed and nearly killed a second time with my spark-chamber was all but completely ripped from my chest. I _**know**_ about pain. And as badly as it hurts, what you've done to me—what I know you _**will**_ do to me—is nothing next to that."

Luna raspberry eyes slightly widened in something that was between astonishment and alarm, before her brows quickly knitted together and anger replaced it. "Bitch," she fumed, so enraged that her voice was hardly above a whisper. The witch trembled with fury. Splaying her hand wide and draw her arm back once more, Luna let it fly forward to strike her incorrigible granddaughter again. "How dare…!" The Sorceress gasped as her wrist was caught in a crushing grip and held off. Her eyes widened again.

Holding her grandmother's hand far away, Hunter's gaze narrowed and she bared her teeth in a snarl. "I am _**not**_," she enunciated slowly, "afraid of you anymore, Luna."

That's when the awe left Luna's eyes and was replaced with treacherous cunningness. Her dark lips curled into a smooth and perverse sneer. "Oh, my stupid, foolish girl," she murmured, pulling her wrist from Hunter's grip and placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, "you should be." Without warning she blasted Hunter back with a wave of magic, throwing her against the wall, and thus, into the containment barrier.

"Ahh-ah!" Hunter cried out as a hot, burning jolt that was far more painful than the last jangled her nerves. She hit to the floor, every nerve ending in her body numb from the impact. "_Vos cunnus_!" she spat acidly. Eyes wide with terror and rage, the teen watched as the woman sauntered towards her, that sadistic smirk she knew all too well plastered to her lips. She tried to get up and move away, but as she currently didn't have total control over her faculties yet she wasn't fast enough. "Ahhh!" She screamed as she blasted into the barrier again. And again. And again. Finally Hunter collapsed flat to the floor, completely numb to anything but the pain her nerves were alight with and twitching with sporadic spasms. The world swam around her in a jumbled mess. Tears leaked from her eyes on their own accord. Suddenly a heeled boot was placed on her neck, painfully pressing and sometimes grinding down onto her. An involuntary whimper escaped the child's lips.

"Tell me, Huntress," Luna rumbled, leaning down to whisper into her ear, "compared to what you've experienced in the past, how does _**this**_ pain rate?" Another meek, pitiful whimper reached her ears and she chuckled ominously. "You are pathetic," the witch jeered. "You are weak. I am almost ashamed to call you my granddaughter! You know pain?" A derisive snort. "Please, girl, you know _**nothing**_ of the word."

Luna ground her boot further into Hunter's neck, causing the child to flinch and whimper once again. "Remember this, Hunter," the way she pronounced the shorted version of her name sent a cold chill of terror down Hunter's spine, "all I have ever used against you to bring you to your knees with tears in your eyes has been minimal force. That is _**all**_ you know. Think about that and ask yourself: if this is as bad as the minimum is, what level of hell is the maximum? You haven't seen anything yet, my sweet." She pressed more weight down on Hunter's neck. "You will never defeat me. _**Never**_ forget that."

With that she took her foot of Hunter's neck, turned, and began to take her leave. "Supper is in an hour," she announced as she pulled open the doors. "I expect you to join us. Once you are able to move again, clean yourself up." She strode out the doors and the Acolytes were pulling them shut behind her when Luna suddenly stopped and turned back to face the sixteen-year-old, who was still lying prone on the floor. The witch gave her a warning: "And, Huntress. I want you to stay away from Steel. It's evident that being around you and your defiance is much too influential for him. It was a trail to get him here and I will not lose him now. Especially to you." With that the door closed with a bang.

Hunter laid there on the floor for several more minutes until the pain her nerves finally began to ebb away and she could move again. Slowly she sat up, rubbing at the bruise on her neck, courtesy of Luna. She glared at the door. "_You are pathetic. You are weak. … You will never defeat me_," her grandmother's words rang in her head. Hunter's lips twisted into a snarl. "Don't count on it," she growled.

* * *

**Confession #46:**

**More like an explanation tan a confession, because I foresee some questions over this, and I'd rather answer them here than several different times in PMs. Why didn't Hunter's ESP ("spidey-sense") warn her when she was about to be blasted with magic? Funny thing about magic, it's not really… tangible? Like you can see it, probably hear and smell it (some kinds), and feel it when you come into contact with it, but you can't touch it. It can touch you, you can't touch it. It's not really physical. Hunter's ESP only works with physical threats. That's why it doesn't go off when someone's sneaking up behind her on the battlefield only thinking about killing her. They have to begin to carry it out before the sense goes off. **

"**Okay, that makes sense, but what about when Luna hit her?" **

**Hunter's ESP also doesn't work when someone sharing her blood poses the threat, because they're blood—they're supposed to be family—they're not supposed to be a threat. It wouldn't work if she were to be beaten by Luna and it wouldn't work if she were to suddenly be crashed into by one of her cousins if they tripped and fell on her. It's kind of cruel irony that her ESP would go off if Optimus—someone who would never hurt her—were to advance on her with weapons drawn in a training session but it doesn't if Luna—someone who has done nothing but hurt her—were to kick her in the face.**


End file.
